t, dropped it into his hat,
which was beside him on the desk, and looked in at it as it lay at the
bottom of the hat: all with a great appearance of consideration.

'Mr Clennam,' he then began, 'I am in want of information, sir.'

'Connected with this firm?' asked Clennam.

'No,' said Pancks.

'With what then, Mr Pancks? That is to say, assuming that you want it of
me.'

'Yes, sir; yes, I want it of you,' said Pancks, 'if I can persuade you
to furnish it. A, B, C, D. DA, DE, DI, DO. Dictionary order.

Dorrit. That's the name, sir?'

Mr Pancks blew off his peculiar noise again, and fell to at his
right-hand nails. Arthur looked searchingly at him; he returned the
look.

'I don't understand you, Mr Pancks.'

'That's the name that I want to know about.'

'And what do you want to know?'

'Whatever you can and will tell me.' This comprehensive summary of his
desires was not discharged without some heavy labouring on the part of
Mr Pancks's machinery.

'This is a singular visit, Mr Pancks. It strikes me as rather
extraordinary that you should come, with such an object, to me.'

'It may be all extraordinary together,' returned Pancks. 'It may be out
of the ordinary course, and yet be business. In short, it is business. I
am a man of business. What business have I in this present world, except
to stick to business? No business.'

With his former doubt whether this dry hard personage were quite in
earnest, Clennam again turned his eyes attentively upon his face. It
was as scrubby and dingy as ever, and as eager and quick as ever, and he
could see nothing lurking in it that was at all expressive of a latent
mockery that had seemed to strike upon his ear in the voice.

'Now,' said Pancks, 'to put this business on its own footing, it's not
my proprietor's.'

'Do you refer to Mr Casby as your proprietor?'

Pancks nodded. 'My proprietor. Put a case. Say, at my proprietor's I
hear name--name of young person Mr Clennam wants to serve. Say, name
first mentioned to my proprietor by Plornish in the Yard. Say, I go to
Plornish. Say, I ask Plornish as a matter of business for information.
Say, Plornish, though six weeks in arrear to my proprietor, declines.
Say, Mrs Plornish declines. Say, both refer to Mr Clennam. Put the
case.' 'Well?'

'Well, sir,' returned Pancks, 'say, I come to him. Say, here I am.'

With those prongs of hair sticking up all over his head, and his breath
coming and going very hard and short, t