As Jim went higher the silence struck him yet more forcibly, and he began to wonder whether he could have made a mistake about the number. Still, there was no harm in seeing whether Mrs Murphy _was_ located on the top floor. So he continued his ascent, the figure behind pursuing him with noiseless steps. At last! Here was the top floor, and here was a crazy-looking door. And still there was absolutely no sign or sound of a living presence in the place. He knocked at the door. "Does Mrs Murphy live here?" he called. "Yes; come in," replied a woman’s voice. So he turned the handle and pushed the door open. Instantly he stopped; the room was innocent of any furniture, but confronting him stood half a dozen roughs, and dimly, in the background, he could distinguish a woman’s form. _It was a trap_--and safety lay only in immediate flight. He turned towards the stairs, but, as he did so, the man with the bandaged head tripped him up, so that Jim fell backwards into the room. One wild glance he cast upon his assailant, and then the bandaged man, with a savage snarl, swung his belt. The buckle hit Jim full on the forehead; there came a great roaring in his ears, and while he was feebly grasping the air the buckle descended again and finished its work. *CHAPTER XXVI.* *THE VULTURES.* For a moment the Hooligan stood motionless, as if surprised by the ease with which he had accomplished his revenge. For a moment only, however. Approaching the prostrate form of the young doctor, he gave Jim a savage kick in the side. Jim did not move or speak. "We’ve got ’im this time, boys," exclaimed the rough. "He’s done." But here there was an unlooked-for interruption. The woman whose voice had lured Jim to his destruction ran forward and confronted the leader of the gang. She was a flower-seller, and had the healthy complexion common to her open-air calling. A thick mane of black hair hung over her eyes, and she was ill-kempt and shabby, but she was not wholly without grace of form or feature. "You said it was an old gent coming up for rent. You lied. It’s the tall doctor." The Hooligan glared at her. "Well,--wot then?" "If I’d known it was ’im, I’d ’ave warned ’im, that’s wot! ’E saved my baby’s life. You shan’t touch ’im again." The Hooligan waved her off without ceremony. "Shut your silly mouth, will you! It’s done now. Get back over there, or I’ll treat you as I’ve treated ’im." Appalled by his tone, the woman shrank back to the gloomy corner whence she had emerged. The others laughed coarsely. The room was dimly illumined by the light that came from the lamp-post in the court without, but this was sufficient to show them that their victim was unconscious, if not dead. "See wot’s on him," said one, a hunchback.