He counted the last stroke, eleven, and then, as if it had been a signal, came the sound of voices and a noise of hammering from the front door.

The next moment the doorkeeper ran up the narrow staircase crying "The Johns are here!" For a moment the crowd of gamblers stared, aghast; then the look of trapped animals came into their faces, and with the noise of splintering wood below, they made a rush at the money on the floor.
The boxer ran swearing into the ring to hide the kip and the pennies, butting with his bull shoulders against a mob of frenzied gaffers mad with fear and greed, grabbing at any coins they could reach in despair of finding their own.

The news spread like fire.

The school was surrounded by a hundred policemen in plain clothes and uniform; every outlet from the alley was watched and guarded.

A cold scorn of the police filled Chook's mind.