ng, my pets. Nothing of
that sort. Quite the contrairy.'

'You are an older man than your companion, sir,' said Emma, trembling.
'Have you no pity for us? Do you not consider that we are women?'

'I do indeed, my dear,' retorted Dennis. 'It would be very hard not to,
with two such specimens afore my eyes. Ha ha! Oh yes, I consider that.
We all consider that, miss.'

He shook his head waggishly, leered at Hugh again, and laughed very
much, as if he had said a noble thing, and rather thought he was coming
out.

'There'll be no murdering, my dear. Not a bit on it. I tell you what
though, brother,' said Dennis, cocking his hat for the convenience
of scratching his head, and looking gravely at Hugh, 'it's worthy of
notice, as a proof of the amazing equalness and dignity of our law, that
it don't make no distinction between men and women. I've heerd the judge
say, sometimes, to a highwayman or housebreaker as had tied the ladies
neck and heels--you'll excuse me making mention of it, my darlings--and
put 'em in a cellar, that he showed no consideration to women. Now, I
say that there judge didn't know his business, brother; and that if
I had been that there highwayman or housebreaker, I should have made
answer: "What are you a talking of, my lord? I showed the women as much
consideration as the law does, and what more would you have me do?" If
you was to count up in the newspapers the number of females as have
been worked off in this here city alone, in the last ten year,' said Mr
Dennis thoughtfully, 'you'd be surprised at the total--quite amazed, you
would. There's a dignified and equal thing; a beautiful thing! But we've
no security for its lasting. Now that they've begun to favour these here
Papists, I shouldn't wonder if they went and altered even THAT, one of
these days. Upon my soul, I shouldn't.'

The subject, perhaps from being of too exclusive and professional a
nature, failed to interest Hugh as much as his friend had anticipated.
But he had no time to pursue it, for at this crisis Mr Tappertit entered
precipitately; at sight of whom Dolly uttered a scream of joy, and
fairly threw herself into his arms.

'I knew it, I was sure of it!' cried Dolly. 'My dear father's at the
door. Thank God, thank God! Bless you, Sim. Heaven bless you for this!'

Simon Tappertit, who had at first implicitly believed that the
locksmith's daughter, unable any longer to suppress her secret passion
for himself, was about to give it