第 17 页

'You seem to make yourself at home here,' said Dick, who was

unacquainted with Mr Quilp's authority.

'I AM at home, young gentleman,' returned the dwarf.

Dick was pondering what these words might mean, and still more what the

presence of Mr Brass might mean, when Mrs Quilp came hurrying down

stairs, declaring that the rooms above were empty.

'Empty, you fool!' said the dwarf.

'I give you my word, Quilp,' answered his trembling wife, 'that I have

been into every room and there's not a soul in any of them.'

'And that,' said Mr Brass, clapping his hands once, with an emphasis,

'explains the mystery of the key!'

Quilp looked frowningly at him, and frowningly at his wife, and

frowningly at Richard Swiveller; but, receiving no enlightenment from

any of them, hurried up stairs, whence he soon hurried down again,

confirming the report which had already been made.

'It's a strange way of going,' he said, glancing at Swiveller, 'very

strange not to communicate with me who am such a close and intimate

friend of his! Ah! he'll write to me no doubt, or he'll bid Nelly

write--yes, yes, that's what he'll do. Nelly's very fond of me.

Pretty Nell!'

Mr Swiveller looked, as he was, all open-mouthed astonishment. Still

glancing furtively at him, Quilp turned to Mr Brass and observed, with

assumed carelessness, that this need not interfere with the removal of

the goods.

'For indeed,' he added, 'we knew that they'd go away to-day, but not

that they'd go so early, or so quietly. But they have their reasons,

they have their reasons.'

'Where in the devil's name are they gone?' said the wondering Dick.

Quilp shook his head, and pursed up his lips, in a manner which implied

that he knew very well, but was not at liberty to say.

'And what,' said Dick, looking at the confusion about him, 'what do you

mean by moving the goods?'

'That I have bought 'em, Sir,' rejoined Quilp. 'Eh? What then?'

'Has the sly old fox made his fortune then, and gone to live in a

tranquil cot in a pleasant spot with a distant view of the changing

sea?' said Dick, in great bewilderment.

'Keeping his place of retirement very close, that he may not be visited

too often by affectionate grandsons and their devoted friends, eh?'

added the dwarf, rubbing his hands hard; 'I say nothing, but is that

your meaning?'

Richard Swiveller was utterly aghast at this unexpected alteration of

circumstances, which threatened the complete overthrow of the project

in which he bore so conspicuous a part, and seemed to nip his prospects

in the bud. Having only received from Frederick Trent, late on the

previous night, information of the old man's illness, he had come upon

a visit of condolence and inquiry to Nell, prepared with the first

instalment of that long train of fascinations which was to fire her

heart at last. And here, when he had been thinking of all kinds of

graceful and insinuating approaches, and meditating on the fearful

retaliation which was slowly working against Sophy Wackles--here were

Nell, the old man, and all the money gone, melted away, decamped he

knew not whither, as if with a fore-knowledge of the scheme and a

resolution to defeat it in the very outset, before a step was taken.

In his secret heart, Daniel Quilp was both surprised and troubled by

the flight which had been made. It had not escaped his keen eye that

some indispensable articles of clothing were gone with the fugitives,

and knowing the old man's weak state of mind, he marvelled what that

course of proceeding might be in which he had so readily procured the

concurrence of the child. It must not be supposed (or it would be a

gross injustice to Mr Quilp) that he was tortured by any disinterested

anxiety on behalf of either. His uneasiness arose from a misgiving

that the old man had some secret store of money which he had not

suspected; and the idea of its escaping his clutches, overwhelmed him

with mortification and self-reproach.

In this frame of mind, it was some consolation to him to find that

Richard Swiveller was, for different reasons, evidently irritated and

disappointed by the same cause. It was plain, thought the dwarf, that

he had come there, on behalf of his friend, to cajole or frighten the

old man out of some small fraction of that wealth of which they

supposed him to have an abundance. Therefore, it was a relief to vex

his heart with a picture of the riches the old man hoarded, and to

expatiate on his cunning in removing himself even beyond the reach of

importunity.

'Well,' said Dick, with a blank look, 'I suppose it's of no use my

staying here.'

'Not the least in the world,' rejoined the dwarf.

'You'll mention that I called, perhaps?' said Dick.

Mr Quilp nodded, and said he certainly would, the very first time he

saw them.

'And say,' added Mr Swiveller, 'say, sir, that I was wafted here upon

the pinions of concord; that I came to remove, with the rake of

friendship, the seeds of mutual violence and heart-burning, and to sow

in their place, the germs of social harmony. Will you have the

goodness to charge yourself with that commission, Sir?'

'Certainly!' rejoined Quilp.

'Will you be kind enough to add to it, Sir,' said Dick, producing a

very small limp card, 'that that is my address, and that I am to be

found at home every morning. Two distinct knocks, sir, will produce

the slavey at any time. My particular friends, Sir, are accustomed to

sneeze when the door is opened, to give her to understand that they ARE

my friends and have no interested motives in asking if I'm at home. I

beg your pardon; will you allow me to look at that card again?'

'Oh! by all means,' rejoined Quilp.

'By a slight and not unnatural mistake, sir,' said Dick, substituting

another in its stead, 'I had handed you the pass-ticket of a select

convivial circle called the Glorious Apollers of which I have the

honour to be Perpetual Grand. That is the proper document, Sir. Good

morning.'

Quilp bade him good day; the perpetual Grand Master of the Glorious

Apollers, elevating his hat in honour of Mrs Quilp, dropped it

carelessly on the side of his head again, and disappeared with a

flourish.

By this time, certain vans had arrived for the conveyance of the goods,

and divers strong men in caps were balancing chests of drawers and

other trifles of that nature upon their heads, and performing muscular

feats which heightened their complexions considerably. Not to be

behind-hand in the bustle, Mr Quilp went to work with surprising

vigour; hustling and driving the people about, like an evil spirit;

setting Mrs Quilp upon all kinds of arduous and impracticable tasks;

carrying great weights up and down, with no apparent effort; kicking

the boy from the wharf, whenever he could get near him; and inflicting,

with his loads, a great many sly bumps and blows on the shoulders of Mr

Brass, as he stood upon the door-steps to answer all the inquiries of

curious neighbours, which was his department. His presence and example

diffused such alacrity among the persons employed, that, in a few

hours, the house was emptied of everything, but pieces of matting,

empty porter-pots, and scattered fragments of straw.

Seated, like an African chief, on one of these pieces of matting, the

dwarf was regaling himself in the parlour, with bread and cheese and

beer, when he observed without appearing to do so, that a boy was

prying in at the outer door. Assured that it was Kit, though he saw

little more than his nose, Mr Quilp hailed him by his name; whereupon

Kit came in and demanded what he wanted.

'Come here, you sir,' said the dwarf. 'Well, so your old master and

young mistress have gone?'

'Where?' rejoined Kit, looking round.

'Do you mean to say you don't know where?' answered Quilp sharply.

'Where have they gone, eh?'

'I don't know,' said Kit.

'Come,' retorted Quilp, 'let's have no more of this! Do you mean to

say that you don't know they went away by stealth, as soon as it was

light this morning?'

'No,' said the boy, in evident surprise.

'You don't know that?' cried Quilp. 'Don't I know that you were

hanging about the house the other night, like a thief, eh? Weren't you

told then?'

'No,' replied the boy.

'You were not?' said Quilp. 'What were you told then; what were you

talking about?'

Kit, who knew no particular reason why he should keep the matter secret

now, related the purpose for which he had come on that occasion, and

the proposal he had made.

'Oh!' said the dwarf after a little consideration. 'Then, I think

they'll come to you yet.'

'Do you think they will?' cried Kit eagerly.

'Aye, I think they will,' returned the dwarf. 'Now, when they do, let

me know; d'ye hear? Let me know, and I'll give you something. I want

to do 'em a kindness, and I can't do 'em a kindness unless I know where

they are. You hear what I say?'

Kit might have returned some answer which would not have been agreeable

to his irascible questioner, if the boy from the wharf, who had been

skulking about the room in search of anything that might have been left

about by accident, had not happened to cry, 'Here's a bird! What's to

be done with this?'

'Wring its neck,' rejoined Quilp.

'Oh no, don't do that,' said Kit, stepping forward. 'Give it to me.'

'Oh yes, I dare say,' cried the other boy. 'Come! You let the cage

alone, and let me wring its neck will you? He said I was to do it.

You let the cage alone will you.'

'Give it here, give it to me, you dogs,' roared Quilp. 'Fight for it,

you dogs, or I'll wring its neck myself!'

Without further persuasion, the two boys fell upon each other, tooth

and nail, while Quilp, holding up the cage in one hand, and chopping

the ground with his knife in an ecstasy, urged them on by his taunts

and cries to fight more fiercely. They were a pretty equal match, and

rolled about together, exchanging blows which were by no means child's

play, until at length Kit, planting a well-directed hit in his

adversary's chest, disengaged himself, sprung nimbly up, and snatching

the cage from Quilp's hands made off with his prize.

He did not stop once until he reached home, where his bleeding face

occasioned great consternation, and caused the elder child to howl

dreadfully.

'Goodness gracious, Kit, what is the matter, what have you been doing?'

cried Mrs Nubbles.

'Never you mind, mother,' answered her son, wiping his face on the

jack-towel behind the door. 'I'm not hurt, don't you be afraid for me.

I've been a fightin' for a bird and won him, that's all. Hold your

noise, little Jacob. I never see such a naughty boy in all my days!'

'You have been fighting for a bird!' exclaimed his mother.

'Ah! Fightin' for a bird!' replied Kit, 'and here he is--Miss Nelly's

bird, mother, that they was agoin' to wring the neck of! I stopped

that though--ha ha ha! They wouldn't wring his neck and me by, no, no.

It wouldn't do, mother, it wouldn't do at all. Ha ha ha!'

Kit laughing so heartily, with his swoln and bruised face looking out

of the towel, made little Jacob laugh, and then his mother laughed, and

then the baby crowed and kicked with great glee, and then they all

laughed in concert: partly because of Kit's triumph, and partly because

they were very fond of each other. When this fit was over, Kit

exhibited the bird to both children, as a great and precious rarity--it

was only a poor linnet--and looking about the wall for an old nail,

made a scaffolding of a chair and table and twisted it out with great

exultation.

'Let me see,' said the boy, 'I think I'll hang him in the winder,

because it's more light and cheerful, and he can see the sky there, if

he looks up very much. He's such a one to sing, I can tell you!'

So, the scaffolding was made again, and Kit, climbing up with the poker

for a hammer, knocked in the nail and hung up the cage, to the

immeasurable delight of the whole family. When it had been adjusted

and straightened a great many times, and he had walked backwards into

the fire-place in his admiration of it, the arrangement was pronounced

to be perfect.

'And now, mother,' said the boy, 'before I rest any more, I'll go out

and see if I can find a horse to hold, and then I can buy some

birdseed, and a bit of something nice for you, into the bargain.'

CHAPTER 14

As it was very easy for Kit to persuade himself that the old house was

in his way, his way being anywhere, he tried to look upon his passing

it once more as a matter of imperative and disagreeable necessity,

quite apart from any desire of his own, to which he could not choose

but yield. It is not uncommon for people who are much better fed and

taught than Christopher Nubbles had ever been, to make duties of their

inclinations in matters of more doubtful propriety, and to take great

credit for the self-denial with which they gratify themselves.

There was no need of any caution this time, and no fear of being

detained by having to play out a return match with Daniel Quilp's boy.

The place was entirely deserted, and looked as dusty and dingy as if it

had been so for months. A rusty padlock was fastened on the door, ends

of discoloured blinds and curtains flapped drearily against the

half-opened upper windows, and the crooked holes cut in the closed