“Royston was staring after him, and wondering at his, strange conduct, when he was recalled to himself by the voice of the deceased, who had struggled to his feet, and was holding on to the lamp-post, swaying to and fro.  ‘I wan’ g’ome,’ he said in a thick voice, ‘St. Kilda.’  He then tried to get into the cab, but was too drunk to do so, and finally sat down again on the pavement.  Seeing this, Royston got down, and lifting him up, helped him into the cab with some considerable difficulty.  The deceased fell back into the cab, and seemed to drop off to sleep; so, after closing the door, Royston turned to remount his driving-seat, when he found the gentleman in the light coat whom he had seen holding up the deceased, close to his elbow.  Royston said, ’Oh, you’ve come back,’ and the other answered, ’Yes, I’ve changed my mind, and will see him home.’  As he said this he opened the door of the cab, stepped in beside the deceased, and told Royston to drive down to St. Kilda.  Royston, who was glad that the friend of the deceased had come to look after him, drove as he had been directed, but near the Church of England Grammar School, on the St. Kilda Road, the gentleman in the light coat called out to him to stop.  He did so, and the gentleman got out of the cab, closing the door after him.

“‘He won’t let me take him home,’ he said, ’so I’ll just walk back to the city, and you can drive him to St. Kilda.’

“‘What street, sir?’ asked Royston.

“‘Grey Street, I fancy,’ said the other, ’but my friend will direct you when you get to the Junction.’ “‘Ain’t he too much on, sir?’ said Royston, dubiously.

“’Oh, no!  I think he’ll be able to tell you where he lives—­it’s Grey Street or Ackland Street, I fancy.  I don’t know which.’

“He then opened the door of the cab and looked in.  ’Good night, old man,’ he said—­the other apparently did not answer, for the gentleman in the light coat, shrugging his shoulders, and muttering ’sulky brute,’ closed the door again.  He then gave Royston half-a-sovereign, lit a cigarette, and after making a few remarks about the beauty of the night, walked off quickly in the direction of Melbourne.  Royston drove down to the Junction, and having stopped there, according to his instructions he asked his ‘fare’ several times where he was to drive him to.  Receiving no response and thinking that the deceased was too drunk to answer, he got down from his seat, opened the door of the cab, and found the deceased lying back in the corner with a handkerchief across his mouth.  He put out his hand with the intention of rousing him, thinking that he had gone to sleep.  But on touching him the deceased fell forward, and on examination, to his horror, he found that he was quite dead.  Alarmed at what had taken place, and suspecting the gentleman in the light coat, he drove to the police station at St. Kilda, and there made the above report.  The body of the deceased was taken out of the cab and brought into the station,