At the first moment Lopez looked round and endeavoured to listen, hoping that some assistance might be near,--some policeman, or, if not that, some wanderer by night who might be honest enough to help him.

But he could hear or see no one, In this condition of things it was not possible for him to pursue the ruffians, as he could not leave his friend leaning against the park rails.

It was at once manifest to him that Wharton had been much hurt, or at any rate incapacitated for immediate exertion, by the blows he had received;--and as he put his hand up to his own head, from which in the scuffle his hat had fallen, he was not certain that he was not severely hurt himself.

Lopez could see that Wharton was very pale, that his cravat had been almost wrenched from his neck by pressure, that his waistcoat was torn open and the front of his shirt soiled,--and he could see also that a fragment of the watch-chain was hanging loose, showing that the watch was gone.

"Are you hurt much ?" he said, coming close up and taking a tender hold of his friend's arm.