more; and began at length to suspect
how matters stood--namely, that the Sunday's incident had turned
Titmouse's head--he having also, no doubt, heard some desperate bad news
during the day, smashing all his hopes. A mixture of emotions kept
Huckaback silent.
Astonishment--apprehension--doubt--pride--pique--resentment. He had been
_struck_--his blood had been drawn--by the man there before him on his
knees, formerly his friend; now, he supposed, a madman.

"Why, curse me, Titmouse, if I can make up my mind what to do to you!"
he exclaimed, "I--I suppose you are going mad, or gone mad, and I must
forgive you. But get away with you--out with you, or--or--I'll call
in"----

"Forgive me--forgive me, dear Hucky! Don't send me away--I shall go and
drown myself if you do."

"What the d--l do I care if you do? You'd much better have gone and done
it before you came here. Nay, be off and do it _now_, instead of
blubbering here in this way."

"Go on! go on!--it's doing me good--the worse the better!" sobbed
Titmouse.

"Come, come," said Huckaback, roughly, "none of this noise here. I'm
tired of it!"

"But, pray, don't send me away from you. I shall go straight to the
devil if you do! I've no friend but you, Hucky. Yet I've been such a
villain to you!--But it quite put the devil into me, when all of a
sudden I found it was _you_."

"Me!--Why, what _are_ you after?" interrupted Huckaback, with an air of
angry wonder.

"Oh dear, dear!" groaned Titmouse; "if I've been a brute to you, which
is quite true, _you've_ been the _ruin_ of me, clean! I'm clean done
for, Huck. Cleaned out! You've done my business for me; knocked it all
on the head!--I sha'n't never hear any more of it--they've said as much
in their letter--they say you called to-day"----

Huckaback now began to have a glimmering notion of his having been, in
some considerable degree, connected with the mischief of the day--an
unconscious agent in it. He audibly drew in his breath, as it were, as
he more and more distinctly recollected his visit to Messrs. Quirk,
Gammon, and Snap; and adverted more particularly to his _threats_,
uttered, too, in Titmouse's name, and as if by his authority. Whew! here
was a kettle of fish.

Now, strange and unaccountable as, at first thought, it may appear, the
very circumstance which one should have thought calculated to assuage
his resentment against Titmouse--namely, that he had really _injured_
Titmouse most seriously, (if n