He did not think that now.
At least if she won that competition she would have reason to bless his name.
He smiled wryly, and found himself going towards the barbers. There were the hanging signs, the notices in the window and, standing at the corner nearby, the Italian barber. The man not only recognised but seemed positively pleased to see him.
“Good evening, sir!”
“Hallo,” said Jim, and smiled briefly. “Good night.”
“Good night to you, sir!”
Over effusive, Jim thought idly, and walked a little more briskly on. It did not occur to him that he was being followed.
CHAPTER TWO
The Shadow
Across the street from the corner where the Italian barber had stood and behaved so effusively was a small, lean man, wearing a neat grey suit and a trilby hat pulled down over one eye. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and put his hand to take it away as the barber began to speak.
A little further along another man leaned against a shop window, and was also smoking. He was massive, with a thick neck and packed shoulders, dressed in a dark brown suit, and his trilby hat was centred on his head. This man did not hear the barber, and could only see his back, but he saw the smaller man move suddenly, and observed that he moved after Jim. The small man and the big one drew level.
“That is him,” the little man said.
“Feller with the bald patch?”
“Yeh.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t let him get away.”
“No one gets away from me,” said the bull-like man in the brown suit. He nodded, and turned after Jim Jones, who had noticed the other man, but thought nothing of it, then.