Also “The Midnight Bell” was to-night visited by the Illegal Operation.

This young man’s actual name was MacDonald. But this was transcended by his reputation. As an Illegal Operation (and as nothing else) he drank his whiskies, leered across the bar, and inhaled his endless cigarettes before the world. For he never told you his name, but when he had had more whisky than was good for him he invariably began to swagger confidentially about his Illegal Operation. By performing one of these (successfully), it appeared, he had abruptly terminated his career as a medical student, and served six months in prison. This was his tragedy, and he was famous for it in “The Midnight Bell.” He was now about thirty-two, and wore old grey flannel trousers, a sports coat, rather dirty shirts, and knitted ties. He had sandy hair, rather closely cropped (as though he had acquired the habit in prison and rather fancied the style) and grey eyes. He had enormous ears, and a long nose with a rather bashed-in appearance – an illegal nose, in fact – and a full mouth and a large chin. Every now and again he tried to commit suicide, but could never manage to bring it off. Despite all these things, he really wouldn’t have hurt a fly and was quite a good fellow if you didn’t rub him up the wrong way. He lived in Fitzroy Square.