342 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Janlary, iy<.6. 



spectacle to the great crowd which soon assembled. 

 'J'he guests dashing to the windows of their rooms were 

 seen to cast out some simple folding ladders (in con- 

 formity with the printed directions in all the rooms), 

 and by this means were enabled to reach the balconies 

 below, whence, by the iron staircase, they could 

 descend to the main balcony above the street. 

 Hundreds of them in all \ariety of attire were stream- 

 ing down the front of the building, looking for all the 

 world like so many white ants whose nest has been 

 disturbed. Owing to these excellent arrangements 

 there was no loss of life in the enormous buildmg. 



Firemen, and even policemen and soldiers were, on 

 the other hand, scaling the building with their ladders 

 to direct thin jets of water in at the windows from the 

 hose attached to the iron pipes, which conxe) cd a 

 copious supply of water to the tops of the houses. 

 The great, wide street, and the bridges that spanned 

 it, formed advantageoits coigns of vantage for the many 

 thousands who had come to watch the sensational 

 operations. \'ery soon, however, thanks to the timely 

 measures which had been adopted, each of the fires 

 was extinguished. 



Then, as all the spectators wended their several ways 

 homeward, tongues got wagging, and e\eryone was 

 enquiring- how so many fires originated at the same 

 time all in this one new district. Later on other facts 

 came to light. Eventually it transpired that some large 

 insurance operations had been effected in the name of 

 Tush. Then did some recall certain words used by 

 that gentleman in the solicitor's office just prior to his 

 leaving the country. 



Many of those returning to their homes or going to 

 their day's business made their wav eastwards through 

 the great markets under London Bridge. Now that 

 old Covent Garden had been transformed and built 

 over this was the centre whence Londoners obtained 

 so much of their food supplies. Magnificent conserva- 

 tory-like buildings rose on all sides, and the well-Da\ed 

 floor was kept scrupulously clean by lavish drenches of 

 water. 



Among the stream of those passing through, one 

 man was noticeable, for in him we may recognise the 

 agent, Bateson. Continuing his way into the purlieus 

 of Bermondsey he might have been seen to visit certain 

 low haunts, become engaged conversing and discussing 

 matters with several well-known disreputable charac- 

 ters, and effecting certain monetary transactions with 

 them. 'J'his done, he threaded his way back to the 

 city. Later on Mr. Bateson might have been seen 

 entering the colossal portals of the " Tush Buildings," 

 situated just beyond Blackfriars Bridge. Ascending 

 rapidly in the hydraulic lift, he was landed on the nth 

 floor, where were the offices of the Griffin Insurance 

 Society. His business was, he explained, to claim 

 on behalf of I\fr. Tush, immediate payment with re- 

 spect to insurance policies issued in his name on cer- 

 tain buildings situated in Libertia Street and that 

 neighbourhood, which had been damaged by fire on the 

 previous night. He explained that the reason of his 

 somewhat sudden demand was because of Mr. Tush's 

 departure for America. " But," retorted the manager, 

 " this is just a matter on which I was requiring some 

 information. I happened to meet Mr. Tush some days 

 ago, and knowing that he had lately insured a number 

 of buildings in very large amounts, I alluded to the 

 matter, when, to my surprise, he denied having effected 

 any insurances whate\er." "Ah, you see," replied 

 the agent, " Mr. Tush is a peculiar man. His hands 

 are so full of business that he frequentlv forgets what 

 little affairs he has transacted. \o\\ ' I manage all 

 these things for him .■uid keep count of thrm, .ind 1 



hold his power of attorney for transacting such busi- 

 ness." Nevertheless, the manager was not at all 

 satisfied, and as rumours had reached him with refer- 

 ence to suspicions as to the origin of the fire, he 

 politely declined to redeem the policies pending further 

 enquiries. Bateson was evidently somewhat discon- 

 certed about this and left the office abruptly. 



It was a hot, stifling dav. In some of the older 

 quarters of the town life seemed almost unbearable. 

 \\'arm blasts of wind sent clouds of dust to thit^ken the 

 air and fill the eves and lungs of passers-by. The 

 glaring ravs of sun, almost tropica] in its intensity, 

 beat down upon the dry-mouthed, sweating wayfarers. 

 Dust penetrated everywhere, and whence this dust? 

 The disintegration of the road materia! by the continu- 

 ous hammering of iron hoofs and crunching of iron- 

 bound wheels, the refuse strewn over the streets by the 

 horses, and the gravel scattered upon them to pre\ent 

 the slipping during damp and frosty weather. But the 

 new districts in the river-bed were better off. Foot 

 passengers strolled beneath the green trees or shady 

 verandah?, while the clean asphalt, unworn by the soft 

 rubber tyres of the motors, emitted no dust, and the 

 plentiful water supply enabled the roadways to be pro- 

 fusely sprinkled from the many stand-pipes. 



Bateson wandered about uneasily trying to rest under 

 the soothing influence of the shadv trees in the centre 

 of the street. He was cogitating on his future actions. 

 Finally be decided, being somewhat apprehensive of 

 what the future might bring, on getting together, while 

 there was yet time, as much personal property as he 

 could collect. With this object he walked off to the 

 Bank of England. This national storehouse of wealth, 

 emblematic of the mightv iMiipire, had long since out- 

 grown the old buildings in Threadneedle .Street, and 

 was now contained in that splendid block extending 

 from Cannon -Street on the north and continuing south 

 to its noble facade in Libertia Street, thus connecting 

 the old city with the new. Business in London was 

 now double what it was twenty years ago, and the Bank 

 of lingland is but an index of its magnitude. As 

 with many other institutions, it is difficult to compre- 

 hend how they could have been sufficiently enlarged to 

 cope with the growth of tr;ide and increase of wealth, 

 had it not been for the utilisation of the Thames. 



Passing through the grand entrance hall, Bateson 

 hurried nervously along and visited one department 

 after another (and the interior of this office may be 

 compared to a small city in itself), endea\-ouring to 

 effect the somewhat complicated business he had in 

 hand. In due course it was all satisfactorily arranged, 

 and he quitted the building to visit another of those 

 great piles of offices towering into the sky, numbers of 

 which had been erected in this neighbourhood, adding 

 immenselv to the much-needed business accommoda- 

 tion of the city. 



Here he asked for an interview with the manager of 

 another large fire insurance company. This time Mr. 

 Bateson was still less fortunate than before, for certain 

 inquiries had in the meantime been made and certain 

 transactions come to light. The result was, that after 

 being detained for a very considerable time in the 

 waiting-room, the manager entered accompanied bv 

 another man, and after a few- words of explanation, 

 introduced the latter as an official from Scotland Yard, 

 who would conduct Mr. Bateson to a certain place 

 where further investigation was now being made as to 

 the origin of last night's confliigrations. And it may 

 here be added the result of these investigations were so 

 unfavourable to that gentleman that for a long time 

 afterwards he was not seen in public. 

 {To be concluded.) 



