Part 49 (1/2)

After a short interval, which John Browdie employed upon the ham and a cold round of beef, the waiter returned with another pie, and the infor in the house, but that he came there every day and that directly he arrived, he should be shown upstairs With this, he retired; and he had not retired two minutes, when he returned with Mr Squeers and his hopeful son

'Why, who'd have thought of this?' said Mr Squeers, when he had saluted the party and received sohter

'Who, indeed, pa!' replied that young lady, spitefully 'But you see 'Tilda IS ht o' Lunnun, school the pie

'One of theet h with theirat all! How much better wouldn't it be now, to save it up for the eddication of any little boys, for instance! They co way, 'before you're aware of it; mine did upon me'

'Will 'ee pick a bit?' said John

'I won't myself,' returned Squeers; 'but if you'll just let little Wackford tuck into soers, else the waiter charges it on, and there's lot of profit on this sort of vittles without that If you hear the waiter co, sir, shove it in your pocket and look out of the , d'ye hear?'

'I'm awake, father,' replied the dutiful Wackford

'Well,' said Squeers, turning to his daughter, 'it's your turn to be married next You must make haste'

'Oh, I'm in no hurry,' said Miss Squeers, very sharply

'No, fanny?' cried her old friend with so her head vehe men, it seems, fanny,' observed Mrs Browdie

'They an't draw'd into it by ME, 'Tilda,' retorted Miss Squeers

'No,' returned her friend; 'that's exceedingly true'

The sarcastic tone of this reply ht have provoked a rather acri of a constitutionally vicious te-was somewhat irritated by old recollections and the failure of her own designs upon Mr Browdie; and the acrireat ht have led to Heaven knohat, if the subject of conversation had not been, at that precise ed by Mr Squeers hientleman; 'who do you suppose we have laid hands on, Wackford and me?'

'Pa! not Mr-?' Miss Squeers was unable to finish the sentence, but Mrs Browdie did it for her, and added, 'Nickleby?'

'No,' said Squeers 'But next door to hih'

'You can'ther hands

'Yes, I can though,' rejoined her father 'I've got him, hard and fast'

'Wa'at!' exclai away his plate 'Got that poor-dom'd scoondrel? Where?'

'Why, in the top back roo,' replied Squeers, 'with hiin'! Thee'st gotten hiland Give us thee hond, mun; I'm darned but I in'?'

'Yes,' replied Squeers, staggering in his chair under the congratulatory blow on the chest which the stout Yorkshi+reain You mean it kindly, I know, but it hurts rather Yes, there he is That's not so bad, is it?'

'Ba'ad!' repeated John Browdie 'It's eneaf to scare a ht it would surprise you a bit,' said Squeers, rubbing his hands 'It was pretty neatly done, and pretty quick too'

'Hoo wor it?' inquired John, sitting down close to hih he could not keep pace with John Browdie's impatience, Mr Squeers related the lucky chance by which Smike had fallen into his hands, as quickly as he could, and, except when he was interrupted by the ad remarks of his auditors, paused not in the recital until he had brought it to an end

'For fear he should give me the slip, by any chance,' observed Squeers, when he had finished, looking very cunning, 'I've taken three outsides for toed to leave the accounts and the new boys to the agent, don't you see? So it's very lucky you come today, or you'd have missed us; and as it is, unless you could co o away'

'Dean't say anoother wurd,' returned the Yorkshi+re him by the hand 'We'd cooh?' returned Mr Squeers, who had not expected quite such a ready acceptance of his invitation, or he would have considered twice before he gave it

John Browdie's only reply was another squeeze of the hand, and an assurance that they would not begin to see London till toht be at Mr Snawley's at six o'clock without fail; and after some further conversation, Mr Squeers and his son departed

During the remainder of the day, Mr Broas in a very odd and excitable state; bursting occasionally into an explosion of laughter, and then taking up his hat and running into the coach-yard to have it out by hi in and out, and snapping his fingers, and dancing scraps of uncouth country dances, and, in short, conducting himself in such a very extraordinary ing her dear 'Tilda not to distress herself, communicated her suspicions in so reat alarm, observed that she had seen hih he was al very serious, and therefore he was better left alone

The result proved her to be perfectly correct for, while they were all sitting in Mr Snawley's parlour that night, and just as it was beginning to get dusk, John Broas taken so ill, and seized with such an alar dizziness in the head, that the whole coood lady, indeed, was the only person present, who retained presence of h to observe that if he were allowed to lie down on Mr Squeers's bed for an hour or so, and left entirely to hiain almost as quickly as he had been taken ill nobody could refuse to try the effect of so reasonable a proposal, before sending for a surgeon Accordingly, John was supported upstairs, with great difficulty; being adoo steps every ti laid on the bed, was left in charge of his wife, who, after a short interval, reappeared in the parlour, with the gratifying intelligence that he had fallen fast asleep

Now, the fact was, that at that particularon the bed with the reddest face ever seen, cra the corner of the pillow into his hter He had no sooner succeeded in suppressing this e to the adjoining room where the prisoner was confined, turned the key, which was on the outside, and darting in, covered Se hand before he could utter a sound

'Ods-bobs, dost thee not know me, mun?' whispered the Yorkshi+reman to the bewildered lad 'Browdie Chap as ed?'

'Yes, yes,' cried S his ain, the instant he had said this ster as ever draw'd breath Wa'at did 'ee coht me,' cried Smike

'Brout thee!' replied John 'Why didn't 'ee punch his head, or lay theeself doon and kick, and squeal out for the pollis? I'd ha' licked a doozen such as hi as thee But thee be'est a poor broken-doon chap,' said John, sadly, 'and God forgi'ower yan o' his weakest creeturs!'

Smike opened his mouth to speak, but John Browdie stopped him

'Stan' still,' said the Yorkshi+reman, 'and doant'ee speak a morsel o' talk till I tell'ee'

With this caution, John Browdie shook his head significantly, and drawing a screwdriver from his pocket, took off the box of the lock in a very deliberate and workether with the implement, on the floor

'See thot?' said John 'Thot be thy doin' Noo, coot awa'!'

Smike looked vacantly at hi

'I say, coot awa',' repeated John, hastily 'Dost thee knohere thee livest? Thee dost? Weel Are yon thy clothes, or schoolmeasther's?'

'Mine,' replied S roo on a chair

'On wi' 'e sleeve, and winding the tails of the coat round the fugitive's neck 'Noo, foller ht, and they wean't see thee pass'