| 356 | 357 | 358 | 359 | 360 |
| 1 | 133 | 265 | 398 | 530 |
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he flew into a tremendous passion; called him all manner of names;
said it was in a great measure his fault that little Nell and the old
gentleman had ever been brought to poverty; didn't hint at our taking
anything to drink; and - and in short rather turned us out of the room
than otherwise.'
'
That's strange,' said the dwarf, musing.
'So we remarked to each other at the time,' returned Dick coolly, 'but
quite true.'
Quilp was plainly staggered by this intelligence, over which he
brooded for some time in moody silence, often raising his eyes to Mr
Swiveller's face, and sharply scanning its expression. As he could read
in it, however, no additional information or anything to lead him to
believe he had spoken falsely; and as Mr Swiveller, left to his own
meditations, sighed deeply, and was evidently growing maudlin on the
subject of Mrs Cheggs; the dwarf soon broke up the conference and
took his departure, leaving the bereaved one to his melancholy
ruminations.
'
Have been brought together, eh?' said the dwarf as he walked the
streets alone. 'My friend has stolen a march upon me. It led him to
nothing, and therefore is no great matter, save in the intention. I'm
glad he has lost his mistress. Ha ha! The blockhead mustn't leave the
law at present. I'm sure of him where he is, whenever I want him for
my own purposes, and, besides, he's a good unconscious spy on
Brass, and tells, in his cups, all that he sees and hears. You're useful
to me, Dick, and cost nothing but a little treating now and then. I am
not sure that it may not be worth while, before long, to take credit
with the stranger, Dick, by discovering your designs upon the child;
but for the present we'll remain the best friends in the world, with
your good leave.'
Pursuing these thoughts, and gasping as he went along, after his own
peculiar fashion, Mr Quilp once more crossed the Thames, and shut
himself up in his Bachelor's Hall, which, by reason of its newly-
erected chimney depositing the smoke inside the room and carrying
none of it off, was not quite so agreeable as more fastidious people
might have desired. Such inconveniences, however, instead of
disgusting the dwarf with his new abode, rather suited his humour;
so, after dining luxuriously from the public-house, he lighted his pipe,
and smoked against the chimney until nothing of him was visible
through the mist but a pair of red and highly inflamed eyes, with
sometimes a dim vision of his head and face, as, in a violent fit of
coughing, he slightly stirred the smoke and scattered the heavy
wreaths by which they were obscured. In the midst of this
atmosphere, which must infallibly have smothered any other man, Mr
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