Miles Hendon, looking "picturesque enough," according to Twain, moves through the riot on London Bridge and by the time he emerges, what little money he had on his person has been filched by pickpockets. Nevertheless, he continues his search for his young friend, deciding that perhaps he can find him in the poorer sections of town. After awhile, he realizes that he has walked many miles without success. Noon finds him still looking, however, this time he is among the rabble that follows the royal procession. He continues on, following the pageant out of town, until at last he lies down and falls asleep under a hedge.
When he awakens the next morning, he moves on toward Westminster, thinking that he can perhaps borrow a few coins from old Sir Humphrey Marlow. As he approaches the palace, the whipping-boy notices him and notes to himself that this man fits the description of the man whom his majesty has been concerned about. When Miles approaches him and asks about Sir Humphrey Marlow, the boy agrees to carry a message, and he asks Miles to wait in a recess sunk in one of the palace walls.
As he sits down, however, a group of halberdiers arrest him as a suspicious-looking character; they search him and find the letter which the king wrote earlier. They hold him while an officer hurries into the palace, and when he returns, he is much more courteous, conducting Miles into the grand entrance of the palace. From there, another official enters and treats him with great respect, leading him through a great hall into a vast room filled with many of the nobility of England. Then he is left in the middle of the room.
