Here Comes the Toff Read Online Free PDF Page B

the first time Anthea noticed a small hanging sign with a picture of a small terrier painted in blue.
    â€œWhat kind of a place is it?”
    â€œIncredibly low,” said Rollison, and Anthea fancied that he was not as carefree as he had been earlier in the day. He walked slowly past the Blue Dog as if he hoped someone would come out or go in.
    Someone did.
    A youngish man, with outmoded winkle-picker shoes and clothes of flashy cut, pushed open the swing doors of the saloon bar, and swaggered on to the pavement. As he stood there, another man came from the pub, a vast creature, so fat that it seemed impossible for him to get through the door. He was in shirtsleeves, and wearing a green baize apron.
    â€œSure, Sidey, sure, you’ll git yer whack, don’t you worry. ’E never …”
    And then Anthea saw the expression on the fat man’s face freeze, and he looked towards the Toff. Rollison appeared not to notice him, but Anthea was conscious of a shock, conscious of the fact that the sight of the Toff had affected the fat man in a way which seemed volcanic.
    The flashily dressed one snapped: “’E’d better not come it, Charlie, I …”
    And then he, too, saw the Toff.
    Exactly the same thing happened. Furtive, thin and unpleasant features stiffened, and for a moment his month stayed open. And then he straightened his shoulders, and muttered something that Anthea did not catch. He marched off down the street without another word to Charlie, who turned into the Blue Dog with the door banging heavily behind him.
    Anthea said:
    â€œRolly, they were scared of you.”
    â€œYe-es,” said the Toff, “and not entirely without reason, my dear. When two men look at me like that they’ve got heavy burdens on their consciences. Yes, things are moving, and in a way I’m not sorry.”
    â€œMoving to what?”
    â€œIf I knew, they’d stop moving,” said the Toff. “One of the difficulties of dealing with bad men is that you don’t know just what the bad men are being bad about. The gentleman in mauve is named Sidey, I think. Charlie Wray owns the pub, and it’s one of the worst in London.” He smiled down at her, and there was in his expression a rollicking, devil-may-care insouciance which forced her to smile back. “Our next point of interest, lady, is a low dive frequented mostly by Chinatown. Don’t laugh at Limehouse, my dear, Limehouse is not laughable—even under the Welfare State.”
    Anthea, a little later, agreed.
    By then it was half-past three, and the Toff was wondering whether to make a day of it. Anthea, however, seemed the reverse of tired, and he wanted her to enjoy herself to the uttermost. It was with this generous thought in mind that he started to cross a cobbled road: and a car swept into it.
    An old Morris, so battered that it was barely recognizable, and yet it was travelling fast. Anthea stopped in the middle of the road, caught in two minds. The Morris came straight on, and then Anthea felt herself lifted off her feet, found herself in the Toff’s arms – and actually sailing through the air.
    For the Toff jumped.
    He jumped just in time, and the Morris rattled past, the red-faced driver leaning out of his window to swear at them. Anthea was pale as she stood on her own – and then she winced, and would have fallen had the Toff not saved her.
    â€œTrouble?” asked Rollison quickly.
    â€œMy—ankle, I think. I ricked it.” She kept most of her weight on one foot, and looked at him squarely. “Rolly, was that an accident?”
    â€œOf course, it …”
    â€œ Was it …”
    The Toff’s eyes narrowed a little as he said: “I can’t be sure, Anthea. The driver was a friend of Charlie Wray’s, and Charlie was annoyed that I saw him talking with Sidey. On the other hand, the driver swore at us, which suggests he was as scared as we