“Great heavens!” ejaculated Arthur Cotterill.

“You ought to inquire before you get into a train,” said the Levite.

“The fact is,” said the other man, who was perhaps a cousin of a Good Samaritan, “the express from Manchester is split up at Knype—­one part for London, and the other part for Birmingham.”

“I know that,” said Arthur Cotterill.

“Ever since I can remember the London part has gone off first.”

“Of course,” said Arthur; “I’ve travelled by it lots of times.”

“But they altered it only last week.”

“I only just caught the train,” Arthur breathed.

“Seems to me you didn’t catch it,” said the Levite.

“I must be in London before two o’clock,” said Arthur, and he said it so solemnly, he said it with so much of his immortal soul, that even the Levite was startled out of his callous indifference.

“There are expresses from Birmingham to London that do the journey in two hours,” said he.

“Let us see,” said the cousin of a Good Samaritan, kindly, opening a bag and producing Bradshaw.

And he explained to Arthur that the train reached New Street, Birmingham, at 10.45, and that, by a singular good fortune, a very fast express left New Street at 11.40, and arrived at Euston at 1.45.

Arthur thanked him and retired with his pincers and anvil to his own compartment.

He was a ruined man, a disgraced man.  The loss of his trunk was now nothing.  At the best he would be over half an hour late, and it was quite probable that he would be too late altogether.  He pictured the other people waiting, waiting for him anxiously, as minute after minute passed, until the fatal hour struck.  The whole affair was unthinkable.  Simeon’s fault, of course.  Simeon had convinced him that to go up to London on Christmas Day would be absurd, whereas it was now evident that to go up to London on Christmas Day was obviously the only prudent thing to do.  Awful!

The train to Birmingham was in an ironical mood, for it ran into New Street to the very minute of the time-table.  Thus Arthur had fifty-five futile minutes to pass.  At another time New Street, as the largest single station in the British Empire, might have interested him.  But now it was no more interesting than Purgatory when you know where you are ultimately going to.  He sought out the telegraph-office, and telegraphed to London—­despairing, yet a manly telegram.  Then he sought out the refreshment-room, and ordered a whisky.  He was just putting the whisky to his lips when he remembered that if, after all, he did arrive in time, the whisky would amount to a serious breach of manners.  So he put the glass down untasted, and the barmaid justifiably felt herself to have been insulted.

He watched the slow formation of the Birmingham-London express.  He also watched the various clocks.  For whole hours the fingers of the clocks never budged, and even then they would show an advance of only a minute or two.