counts. Still every day he had his little pet
into the room to play about his knees, and indeed refused to part with
him even when nurse Harris came to put him to bed, often making her stay
and take some wine, or consulting her as to some future provisions, for
her little charge, for whom she seemed to have even more affection than
the old gentleman himself.

It was late one evening that he sat talking to her in this way, but
still with a rather absent manner, for his heavy ledgers and cash-books
lay beside him on the table. She would have taken the child away, but
Mr. Dryce told her to let him remain, and at the same time asked her to
step down into the counting-house, and if Mr. Jaggers had not left for
the night, to ask him to come up.

Now Mr. Jaggers had so seldom been invited to come upstairs, that,
although he of course knew of the adoption of the little foundling, he
had never seen the nurse; but that was scarcely any reason for her
stopping on her way downstairs and pressing her hand to her side with a
sudden spasm of fear.

She got down at last, however, and opening the two doors which led to
the passage, at the end of which was the private counting-house, stood
there in the shadow and looked in.

Mr. Jaggers was busy at his desk tearing up papers, some of which
already blazed upon the hearth. The desk itself was open, and by the
light of the shaded lamp she could see that it contained a heavily bound
box in which hung a bunch of keys. As she delivered Mr. Dryce's message,
still in the shadow of the door, he looked up with a scared face, and
dropping the lid of the desk with a loud slam, peered into the darkness.

Mrs. Harris repeated her message, and returned swiftly up the stairs,
nor stopped even to go in for the child, but shut herself into her own
room. Somehow or other Mr. Jaggers felt a cold perspiration break out
all over him, and yet he need scarcely have been cold, for he already
had his greatcoat on, and there was a decent fire in the grate burning
behind a guard. Still he shivered, and after taking the lamp and once
more looking into the entry, gave a deep sigh of relief, and in a
half-absent manner locked both box and desk and carefully placed the
keys in a breast pocket. Leaving the lamp still burning, he went
upstairs and found Mr. Dryce alone, sitting at the table with the books
open before him. He looked up as his clerk entered. "Take a seat,
Jaggers," he said, "I shall want you for an ho