tement and exhaustion. After a
little time he said--

"Well, this _is_ a lark! But, I say, Bloater, d'ye think it was right
to let 'im off like that?"

"Who's let 'im off, stoopid?" retorted the Bloater.

"Don't I know 'is name--at least part of it; an' the 'abitation of 'is
wife, or sweet-'eart, or sister, or suthin' o' that sort?"

"Oh, ah, werry true," replied Little Jim, with a terminating "sk!"

"Well, that bein' 'ow it is, we han't let 'im off just yet, d'ye see?
So, now we'll go an' turn in."

With that observation the Bloater and Little Jim went away to search for
and appropriate some convenient place of repose for the night.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

Seated by the fire-side of Joe Dashwood's new abode--for the old one,
although not quite "burnt out," was uninhabitable--Bob Clazie chatted
and smoked his pipe contentedly. At the conclusion of a remark, he
looked up in Mrs Dashwood's puzzled face, and said, "That's 'ow it is,
d'ye see?"

"No, I don't see," replied Mary, with a smile.

"No? well, now, that _is_ koorious. W'y, it's as plain as the nose on
my face. See here. As the law now stands, there is no public authority
to inwestigate the cause o' fires in London; well, wot's the consikence,
w'y, that there are regular gangs of scoundrels who make it their
business to arrange fires for their own adwantage."

"Now, that's just what I don't understand," said Mary, knitting her
pretty brows; "what advantage _can_ it be to any one to set fire to a
house, except to pick-pockets who may get a chance of doing business in
the crowd?"

"Well, that of itself is enough to endooce some blackguards to raise a
fire, and likewise to get the shillin' for bringin' the first noose to
the station; which, by the way, was the chief okipation of that willain
Phil Sparks, I'm pretty sure. But here's 'ow it is. The swindlers I
speak of, go an' take 'ouses--the further from fire-stations the better.
Then they furnishes the 'ouses, arter which they insures 'em. In the
course of a short time they removes most of the furniture in a quiet
way, and then set the 'ouses alight, themselves escapin', p'r'aps, in
nothin' but their night clothes. So, you see, they gits the insurance,
which more than pays for all the furniture they had bought, besides
which they 'ave a good deal of the furniture itself to sell or do wot
they please with. That's one way in which fires are raised,--ain't it
Joe?"

Joe, who sat smoking in silen