They smoked and spat, tranquilly discussing the horses and betting for the next Cup meeting.

Satisfied that the Road was quiet, he moved off, dragging his feet as if they weighed a ton.

At once a sinister excitement passed through the groups.
"That was Cassidy, now we shan't be long." "Wot price Jonah givin' us the slip ?" "'Ow'll Chook perform, if 'e ain't at Ada's ?" It was the Push, who had run their man to earth at the Angel, where he was drinking in the bar, alone.

Chook had posted them with the instinct of a general, and then left in hurried search of Jonah.

And they watched the swinging doors of the hotel with cruel eyes, their nerves already vibrating with the ancestral desire to kill, the wild beast within them licking his lips at the thought of the coming feast.
Meanwhile, in Cardigan Street, Chook was arguing with Jonah.