He did not remember where he was; he lit a match and a
candle on the chimney-piece. Then slowly his memory came back to him,
and not only his memory, but his consciousness of what he had wholly
forgotten--namely, that this was Saturday, the Sabbath of the Jews, and
that there was not the faintest chance of Isaacs' arrival at his place of
business. In the same moment the embarrassment and confusion of the
young Israelite flashed vividly across his mind, and he saw that he was
in a very awkward position. If that fair Hebrew boy had been robbing, or
trying to rob, the till, then Allen's position was serious indeed, as
here he was, alone, at an untimely hour, in the office. So he blew the
candle out, and went down the dingy stairs as quietly as possible, took
the first cab he met, drove to Paddington, and went up to Oxford.
It is probable that the young child of Israel, if he had been attempting
any mischief, did not succeed in it. Had there been any trouble, it is
likely enough that he would have involved Allen in the grief. Then Allen
would have been in a, perhaps, unprecedented position. He could have
established an alibi, as far as the Jew's affairs went, by proving that
he had been at Blocksby's at the hour when the boy would truthfully have
sworn that he had let him into Isaacs' chambers.
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