It looked at first like a cluster of bicycles with a single rider.

But as the rider was motionless Neil soon came up to him.
On nearer view he saw that the object was in reality a tricycle, and that it held beside the rider a pair of crutches which lay in supports lengthwise along one side.

The machine was made to work with the hands instead of the feet, and a bow-shaped piece of steel which fitted around the operator's knee served as steering apparatus.

The youth who sat motionless on the seat was a rather pale-faced, frail-looking lad of eighteen years, and it needed no second glance to tell Neil that he was crippled from his waist down.

As Neil approached he was pulling the handles to and fro and looking perplexedly at the gear.