Three streets converging into the place were glutted with men, extending from curb to curb; and for an outlet there was but one somewhat wider street, which twisted its course under the gray walls of the church.

Yet somehow the various lines melted together and went thumping off out of sight like streams running down a funnel and out at the spout.
Never, so far as we could tell, was there any congestion, any hitch, any suggestion of confusion.

Frequently there would come from a sideway a group of officers on horseback, or a whole string of commandeered touring cars bearing monocled, haughty staff officers in the tonneaus, with guards riding beside the chauffeurs and small slick trunks strapped on behind.

A whistle would sound shrilly then; and magically a gap would appear in the formation.

Into this gap the horsemen or the imperious automobiles would slip, and away the column would go again without having been disturbed or impeded noticeably.