“I did not waste time on breakfast.  That could wait.  Meanwhile I fell to work with the materials in the yard.  In addition to the hand-cart, there was now a coster’s barrow, the property of a greengrocer, to whom also belonged a quantity of lumber, including some bundles of stakes and several hampers filled with straw.  With these materials, and those that I had borrowed from Mrs. Kosminsky, I began rapidly to build up a pair of life-sized guys—­one male and one female.  I put them together very roughly and sat them side by side in the barrow, leaning against the wall; and to each I attached a large ticket on which I had scrawled the name of the person it represented; one being the highly unpopular minister, Mr. Todd-Leeks, and the other the notorious Mrs. Gamway.

“They were very sketchily built and would have dropped to pieces at a touch.  But that was of no consequence.  The time factor was the important one; and I had worked at such speed that I had huddled them into a pretty plausible completeness when the inevitable peal at the house bell disturbed my labors.  I darted into the parlor, crammed a piece of bread into my mouth and rushed out to the shop door, chewing frantically.  As I opened the door, an agitated police inspector burst in, followed by a sergeant.

“‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ I said suavely.  ‘Hair-cutting or shaving?’

“I shall not record the inspector’s reply.  I was really shocked.  I had no idea that responsible officials used such language.  In effect, they wished to look over the premises.  Of course I gave instant permission, and followed them in their tour of inspection on the pretext of showing them over the house.

“The inspector was in a very bad temper and the sergeant was obviously depressed.  They conversed in low tones as they stumped up the stairs and I heard the sergeant say something about ‘an awful suck in.’

“‘Oh, don’t talk of it,’ snapped the inspector.  ’It’s enough to make a cat sick.  But what beats me is how those devils could have stuck the air of that room.  It would have settled my hash in five minutes.’

“‘Yes,’ agreed the sergeant; ’and how they could have let themselves down from that window without being spotted.  I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the cord.  The constables must have been asleep.’

“‘Yes,’ grunted the inspector; ’thickheaded louts.  Let’s have a look out here.’  He strode into the second floor back and threw up the window.  ‘Now you see,’ he continued, ’what I mean.  This house has no connection with the next one.  That projecting wing cuts it off.  This back yard opens into Bell’s Alley; the yard next door opens into Kosher Court.  That’s the way they went.  They couldn’t have got to this house excepting by the roof, and we’ve seen that they went down, not up.’  He stuck his head out of the window and looked down sourly at the guys.

“‘Those things yours?’ he asked gruffly, pointing at the effigies.