Although Mr Headstone’s application for admittance made
little impression upon the premises to which it was addressed, it was loud
enough to attract the attention of the porter in the mulberry-coloured coat,
whose stewardship of the street included amongst its manifold duties that of the
keeping of the peace. It being the opinion of this officer that the pedagogue’s
actions were clearly in breach of the law in this regard, the worthy guardian
advanced upon the source of the disturbance, thrusting his staff of office
before him, very like a knight from days of yore brandishing a lance. Observing
the actions of the porter and perceiving that the pointed end of the instrument
was aimed directly at his corporeal self, Mr Headstone judged it an opportune
moment to retreat to a place of greater safety.
In a demonstration of the phenomenon of locomotive momentum,
the porter in the mulberry-coloured coat gathered speed in his approach at an alarming rate, one
that was not quite in keeping with the dignity of his office. As he pursued the
harried pedagogue along Doughty
Street, passers-by turned their heads to mark his
progress and wonder at the circumstance that must have prompted this display of
human velocity.
Mr Headstone, whose legs were as long as the porter’s were
short, soon gained the advantage of distance over the ruby-faced officer, and he
reached the end of the street with the confidence of an athlete who has successfully
outpaced his opponent. His sense of victory was, however, fleeting for as he
turned the corner he collided with an individual who was at that same moment attempting
to restrain a large dog by the scruff of its neck, which endeavour the latter
personage was obliged to relinquish by being tumbled into the gutter in a most
unceremonious manner.
