was a point of honor with all the boys he knew to pretend that the
policeman was after them. To gull the policeman into thinking all was
well they blackened their faces and wore their jackets inside out; their
occupation was a constant state of readiness to fly from him, and when
he tramped out of sight, unconscious of their existence, they emerged
from dark places and spoke in exultant whispers. Tommy had been proud to
join them, but he now resented their going on in this way; he felt that
he alone had the right to fly from the law. And once at least while he
was flying something happened to him that he was to remember better, far
better, than his mother's face.

What set him running on this occasion (he had been sent out to get one
of the girls' shoes soled) was the grandest sight to be seen in
London--an endless row of policemen walking in single file, all with the
right leg in the air at the same time, then the left leg. Seeing at once
that they were after him, Tommy ran, ran, ran until in turning a corner
he found himself wedged between two legs. He was of just sufficient size
to fill the aperture, but after a momentary look he squeezed through,
and they proved to be the gate into an enchanted land.

The magic began at once. "Dagont, you sacket!" cried some wizard.

A policeman's hand on his shoulder could not have taken the wind out of
Tommy more quickly. In the act of starting a-running again he brought
down his hind foot with a thud and stood stock still. Can any one
wonder? It was the Thrums tongue, and this the first time he had heard
it except from his mother.

It was a dull day, and all the walls were dripping wet, this being the
part of London where the fogs are kept. Many men and women were passing