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206 THE WHITE SLAVE MARKET
now he must have been a " pimp "
got into
the carriage. Of course I took no notice of
him, but he sat down exactly opposite to me,
and put his foot across the door, which he
shut, and then he addressed me as "my dear."
I still took no notice of him, but he went on
talking, and offered me a ladies' paper. I
thought it better to say nothing. Then he
began to indulge in what I suppose he
thought was wit, and to chaff me on my
silence. He told me I looked " far too sweet
and good-natured to be disagreeable " to him.
Just then, to my great joy, I saw my husband
coming down the platform, and the train was
about to start. My husband flung open the
door and jumped into the carriage. I suppose
he noticed that something had upset me,
for he asked what the matter was, but I
said, " Oh, nothing." Not satisfied with this
answer, he insisted on knowing why I looked
worried, and I told him that the man opposite
had made a mistake, and thought I was
travelling alone. Just then the guard blew
his whistle and the train began to move out
of the station. My husband said nothing at
all, but simply turned round and took the
man by the collar of his coat and somewhere
round the waist line, kicked open the door
of the carriage, and with a dreadful bang
bumped the creature down upon the platform.
He never said a word, but quietly
sat down near me. I could hardly help
laughing at the helplessness of the wretch
as the train passed out of the station leaving