In Honours Cause | Page 7

minutes later they landed at the stairs, and, apparently quite at home in the place, Andrew led his companion in and out among the gloomy-looking streets and lanes of the old Alsatian district, and out into the continuation of what might very well be called High Street, London.
"Here we are," he said, as he directed their steps toward one of the narrow courts which ran north from the main thoroughfare; but upon reaching the end, where a knot of excitable-looking men were talking loudly upon some subject which evidently interested them deeply, one of the loudest speakers suddenly ceased his harangue and directed the attention of his companions to the two lads. The result was that all faced round and stared at them offensively, bringing the colour into Andrew's cheeks and making Frank feel uncomfortable.
"Let's go straight on," said the former; and drawing himself up, he walked straight toward the group, which extended right across the rough pavement and into the road, so that any one who wanted to pass along would be compelled to make a circuit by stepping down first into the dirty gutter.
"Keep close to me; don't give way," whispered Andrew; and he kept on right in the face of the staring little crowd, till he was brought to a standstill, not a man offering to budge.
"Will you allow us to pass?" said Andrew haughtily.
"Plenty o' room in the road," shouted the man who had been speaking. "Aren't you going up the court?"
"I do not choose to go into the muddy road, sir, because you and your party take upon yourselves to block up the public way," retorted Andrew, giving the man so fierce a look that for a moment or two he was somewhat abashed, and his companions, influenced by the stronger will of one who was in the right, began to make way for the well-dressed pair.
But the first man found his tongue directly.
"Here, clear the road!" he cried banteringly. "Make way, you dirty blackguards, for my lords. Lie down, some of you, and let 'em walk over you. Lost your way, my lords? Why didn't you come in your carriages, with horse soldiers before and behind? But it's no use to-day; the Lord Mayor's gone out to dinner with his wife."
A roar of coarse laughter followed this sally, which increased as another man shouted in imitation of military commands:
"Heads up; draw skewers; right forward; ma-rr-rr-ch!"
"Scum!" said Andrew contemptuously, as they left the little crowd behind.
"Is the city always like this?" said Frank, whose face now was as red as his companion's.
"Yes, now," said Andrew bitterly. "That's a specimen of a Whig mob."
"Nonsense!" cried Frank, rather warmly; "don't be so prejudiced. How can you tell that they are Whigs?"
"By the way in which they jumped at a chance to insult gentlemen. Horse soldiers indeed! Draw swords! Oh! I should like to be at the head of a troop, to give the order and chase the dirty ruffians out of the street, and make my men thrash them with the flats of their blades till they went down on their knees in the mud and howled for mercy."
"What a furious fire-eater you are, Drew," cried Frank, recovering his equanimity. "We ought to have stepped out into the road."
"For a set of jeering ruffians like that!" cried Andrew. "No. They hate to see a gentleman go by. London is getting disgraceful now."
"Never mind. There, I've seen enough of it. Let's get down to the river again, and take a boat; it's much pleasanter than being in this noisy, crowded place."
"Not yet. We've a better right here than a mob like that. It would be running away."
"Why, how would they know?" said Frank merrily.
"I should know, and feel as if I had disgraced myself," replied Andrew haughtily. "Besides, I wanted to see a gentleman."
"What, up that court?" said Frank, looking curiously at his companion.
"Yes, a gentleman up that court. There are plenty of gentlemen, and noblemen, too, driven nowadays to live in worse places than that, and hide about in holes and corners."
"Oh, I say, don't be so cross because a lot of idlers would not make way."
"It isn't that," said the youth. "It half maddens me sometimes."
"Then don't think about it. You are always talking about politics. I don't understand much about them, but it seems to me that if people obey the laws they can live happily enough."
"Poor Frank!" said Andrew mockingly. "But never mind. You have got everything to learn. This way."
The boy was thinking that he did not want to learn "everything" if the studies were to make him as irritable and peppery as his companion, when the imperative order to turn came upon him by surprise, and he followed Andrew, who had suddenly turned into a narrower court than the one for which