ip whispered, "I hope, Joe, we shan't find them," and Joe answered,
"I'd give a shilling if they had cut and run, Pip."

But the soldiers soon caught them, and one was the wretched man who had
talked with Pip; and once when he looked at Pip, the child shook his
head to try and let him know he had said nothing.

But the convict, without looking at anyone, told the sergeant he wanted
to say something to prevent other people being under suspicion, and said
he had taken some "wittles" from the blacksmith's. "It was some broken
wittles, that's what it was, and a dram of liquor, and a pie."

"Have you happened to miss such an article as a pie, blacksmith?"
inquired the sergeant.

"My wife did, at the very moment when you came in. Don't you know, Pip?"

"So," said the convict, looking at Joe, "you're the blacksmith, are you?
Then, I'm sorry to say, I've eat your pie."

"God knows you're welcome to it," said Joe. "We don't know what you have
done, but we wouldn't have you starved to death for it, poor miserable
fellow-creature. Would us, Pip?"

Then the boat came, and the convicts were taken back to their prison,
and Joe carried Pip home.

* * * * *

Some years after, some mysterious friend sent money for Pip to be
educated and brought up as a gentleman; but it was only when Pip was
quite grown up that he discovered this mysterious friend was the
wretched convict who had frightened him so dreadfully that cold, dark
Christmas eve. He had been sent to a far away land, and there had grown
rich; but he never forgot the little boy who had been kind to him.

X.

TODGERS'.

THIS is the story of a visit made by Mr. Pecksniff, a very pompous man,
and his two daughters Miss Mercy and Miss Charity, to the boarding-house
kept by Mrs. Todgers, in London; and a call while there on Miss Pinch, a
governess or young lady teaching in a rich family.

Mr. Pecksniff with his two beautiful young daughters looked about him
for a moment, and then knocked at the door of a very dingy building,
even among the choice collection of dingy houses around, on the front of
which was a little oval board, like a tea-tray, with this
inscription--"Commercial Boarding-house: M. Todgers."

It seemed that M. Todgers was not up yet, for Mr. Pecksniff knocked
twice and rang three times without making any impression on anything but
a dog over the way. At last a chain and some bolts were withdrawn with a
rusty noise,