ting to Nicholas.

Though little Miss La Creevy's indignation was not so singularly
displayed as Newman's, it was scarcely inferior in violence and
intensity. Indeed, if Ralph Nickleby had happened to make his appearance
in the room at that moment, there is some doubt whether he would not
have found Miss La Creevy a more dangerous opponent than even Newman
Noggs himself.

'God forgive me for saying so,' said Miss La Creevy, as a wind-up to all
her expressions of anger, 'but I really feel as if I could stick this
into him with pleasure.'

It was not a very awful weapon that Miss La Creevy held, it being in
fact nothing more nor less than a black-lead pencil; but discovering her
mistake, the little portrait painter exchanged it for a mother-of-pearl
fruit knife, wherewith, in proof of her desperate thoughts, she made a
lunge as she spoke, which would have scarcely disturbed the crumb of a
half-quartern loaf.

'She won't stop where she is after tonight,' said Newman. 'That's a
comfort.'

'Stop!' cried Miss La Creevy, 'she should have left there, weeks ago.'

'--If we had known of this,' rejoined Newman. 'But we didn't. Nobody
could properly interfere but her mother or brother. The mother's
weak--poor thing--weak. The dear young man will be here tonight.'

'Heart alive!' cried Miss La Creevy. 'He will do something desperate, Mr
Noggs, if you tell him all at once.'

Newman left off rubbing his hands, and assumed a thoughtful look.

'Depend upon it,' said Miss La Creevy, earnestly, 'if you are not very
careful in breaking out the truth to him, he will do some violence upon
his uncle or one of these men that will bring some terrible calamity
upon his own head, and grief and sorrow to us all.'

'I never thought of that,' rejoined Newman, his countenance falling more
and more. 'I came to ask you to receive his sister in case he brought
her here, but--'

'But this is a matter of much greater importance,' interrupted Miss La
Creevy; 'that you might have been sure of before you came, but the end
of this, nobody can foresee, unless you are very guarded and careful.'

'What CAN I do?' cried Newman, scratching his head with an air of great
vexation and perplexity. 'If he was to talk of pistoling 'em all, I
should be obliged to say, "Certainly--serve 'em right."'

Miss La Creevy could not suppress a small shriek on hearing this, and
instantly set about extorting a solemn pledge from Newman that he would
use his utmost e