When Elsie went to visit Mr. Oliver Tanner upon the aforementioned time, and upon Professor Goodwin’s insistence, she was accompanied by Mr. Adams – who she had never yet had a good conversation with. She was fortunate that he came along, because in the midst of the night they were set upon by a bearded man in a feathered tricorn hat and a stumpy man who was lacking a few teeth. Apparently they were the typical lowlife bandits of the lower ring, and Mr. Adams had dealt with their type before. He began now by presenting them with a medium-sized bag of money – hopefully enough to fill their appetites. Unfortunately it didn’t work, and the tricorn man revealed a knife and stated that Mr. Adams was holding out on them. What Elsie witnessed next was somewhat mindboggling:
Mr. Adams’ eyes flicked down and then up, noting the poor stance of the attacker in front of him – the stout man stood behind. The first man grinned with rotting teeth and then slashed the knife forward, but Mr. Adams struck at his forearm like a cobra; knocking it aside while he came in and swept the attacker’s leg out, putting off his balance. Next, he pushed the attacker’s wrist forward until the knife clanged against the ground, and then he struck him in the neck before throwing him into the stout man who was running up from behind. They collided together and ended up incapacitated on the ground. And all of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Elsie felt her blood rushing after such a display of combat. “Whoh, that was amazing! And here I was thinking the professor kept you for your sense of humour.” Mr. Adams said nothing in reply, and they continued on their way to Mr. Abberton’s Pie Shop.
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