s,
hungering for a little love; but he thought only of his dead son, and
gave no sign of tenderness to her.

One of Doctor Blimber's pupils begged for and brought her Diogenes, the
old watch-dog which little Paul had petted at the school and this dog
was all she had to love. She had not seen Walter Gay since the death of
her brother, though he himself thought of her very often.

Walter's prospects, thanks to an enemy he had made without knowing it,
had changed since then. This enemy was Carker, the manager at Dombey and
Son's.

Carker was a thin man, with the whitest, most regular teeth, which he
continually showed in an unpleasant smile. There was something cat-like
about him; the more he disliked a person the wider was his smile. Carker
had a brother whom he hated, and Walter unconsciously earned his enmity
by liking and being kind to this brother.

Mr. Dombey was not fond of Walter either, the less so because Florence
liked him, and disliking Florence, he disliked all for whom she cared.
So, between Mr. Dombey and Carker, Walter was ordered to go, on business
for the firm, on a long voyage to the West Indies.

Walter was not deceived. He knew he was not sent there for his own good,
but in order not to worry his uncle he and Captain Cuttle pretended
that it was a splendid opportunity. So old Solomon Gills tried not to
sorrow for his going.

Florence heard of the voyage, and, the night before Walter sailed, in
she came to the little shop where Walter had brought her years before
when she had been lost. She kissed Old Sol and called Walter her
brother, and said she would never forget him.

And so Walter, when next day he sailed away, waving his hand to his
uncle and Captain Cuttle, went with even more of love in his heart for
Florence than he had had.

After his going Florence was lonelier than before. She was all alone,
save for the dog Diogenes and her books and music. Her father was much
away, and in the evenings she could go into his room and nestle in his
easy chair without fear of repulse. She kept the room in order and a
fresh nosegay on the table, and never left it without leaving on his
deserted desk a kiss and a tear. The purpose of her life, she
determined, should be to try continually to let her father know how much
she loved him.

But months passed and she had no chance. Her father, in fact, seldom
came near the house. He was away visiting in the country with a Major
Bagstock, who had struck up