I paused for a moment, renewed my grip on George's collar, and took a quick look round. Tommy was beside me, and a few yards away, down at the bottom of some steps, I saw a number of small boys paddling in the water. There was evidently no risk of anybody being drowned. "I'll take his feet," said Tommy, suiting the action to the word. "You get hold of his arms." There was a brief struggle, a loud scream for help, and the next moment George was swinging merrily between us. "One! Two! Three!" I cried. At the word "three" we let go simultaneously. He flew up into the air like a great wriggling crab, twisted round twice, and then went down into the muddy water with a splash that echoed all over the Embankment. "Very nice," said Tommy critically. "But we ought to have put a stone round his neck." One glance over the wall showed me that there was no danger. Dripping, floundering, and gasping for breath, George emerged from the surface like a frock-coated Neptune rising from the waves. He seemed to be trying to speak, but the shrieks of innocent delight with which his reappearance was greeted by the paddling boys unfortunately prevented us from hearing him. I thrust my arm through Tommy's. "Come along," I said. "We must get out of this before there's a row." Swift as we had been about it, our little operation had already attracted a certain amount of notice. People were hurrying up from all directions, but without paying any attention to them, we walked back towards the taxi, the driver of which had apparently been too astonished to move. "Gor blimey, Guv'nor," he ejaculated, "what sorter gime d'you call that?" "It's all right, driver," said Tommy gravely. "We found him insulting this gentleman's sister." The driver, who evidently had a nice sense of chivalry, at once came round to our side. "Was 'e?--the dirty 'ound!" he observed. "Well, you done it on 'im proper. You ain't drowned 'im, 'ave ye, gents?" "Oh no," I said. "He's addressing a few words to the crowd now." Then seeing Joyce standing in the doorway I hurried up the steps. "Joyce dear," I said, "put on a hat and come as quick as you can. It's quite all right, but we want to get out of this before there's any bother." She nodded, and disappeared into the flat, while I strolled back to the taxi. It was evident from a movement among the spectators that George was making his way towards the steps. Some of them who had come running up kept turning round and casting curious glances at us, but so far no one had attempted to interfere. It was not until Joyce was just coming out of the flats, that a man detached himself from the crowd and started across the road. He was a big, fat, greasy person in a bowler hat. "Here," he said. "You wait a bit. What d'ye mean by throwing that pore man in the river?" I opened the door of the taxi and Joyce jumped in. "What's it got to do with you, darling?" asked Tommy affably.