them to the notary's house; learnt the destination of the carriage from

one of the postilions; and knowing that a fast night-coach started for

the same place, at the very hour which was on the point of striking,

from a street hard by, darted round to the coach-office without more

ado, and took his seat upon the roof. After passing and repassing the

carriage on the road, and being passed and repassed by it sundry

times in the course of the night, according as their stoppages were

longer or shorter; or their rate of travelling varied, they reached the

town almost together. Quilp kept the chaise in sight, mingled with the

crowd, learnt the single gentleman's errand, and its failure, and

having possessed himself of all that it was material to know, hurried

off, reached the inn before him, had the interview just now detailed,

and shut himself up in the little room in which he hastily reviewed all

these occurrences.

You are there, are you, my friend?' he repeated, greedily biting his

nails. 'I am suspected and thrown aside, and Kit's the confidential

agent, is he? I shall have to dispose of him, I fear. If we had come up

with them this morning,' he continued, after a thoughtful pause, 'I

was ready to prove a pretty good claim. I could have made my profit.

But for these canting hypocrites, the lad and his mother, I could get

this fiery gentleman as comfortably into my net as our old friend - our

mutual friend, ha! ha! - and chubby, rosy Nell. At the worst, it's a

golden opportunity, not to be lost. Let us find them first, and I'll find

means of draining you of some of your superfluous cash, sir, while

there are prison bars, and bolts, and locks, to keep your friend or

kinsman safely. I hate your virtuous people!' said the dwarf, throwing

off a bumper of brandy, and smacking his lips, 'ah! I hate 'em every

one!'

This was not a mere empty vaunt, but a deliberate avowal of his real

sentiments; for Mr Quilp, who loved nobody, had by little and little

come to hate everybody nearly or remotely connected with his ruined

client: - the old man himself, because he had been able to deceive

him and elude his vigilance - the child, because she was the object of

Mrs Quilp's commiseration and constant self-reproach - the single

gentleman, because of his unconcealed aversion to himself - Kit and

his mother, most mortally, for the reasons shown. Above and beyond

that general feeling of opposition to them, which would have been

inseparable from his ravenous desire to enrich himself by these

altered circumstances, Daniel Quilp hated them every one.

In this amiable mood, Mr Quilp enlivened himself and his hatreds

with more brandy, and then, changing his quarters, withdrew to an

obscure alehouse, under cover of which seclusion he instituted all

possible inquiries that might lead to the discovery of the old man and

his grandchild. But all was in vain. Not the slightest trace or clue

could be obtained. They had left the town by night; no one had seen

The Old Curiosity Shop