and
admire him, in his heart he was trying to fascinate little Em'ly and to
steal her love that she had given to Ham, till she would leave her home
and run away with him to a foreign country. This, however, David could
not guess, nor could any of the others, who regretted when the two
friends' visit was over.

Now that his school-days were finished David's aunt had planned for him
to study law in an office in London, and accordingly David began his new
life there, very near the street where he had once toiled, a wretched,
friendless helper, in the dirty warehouse on the dock. He found Tommy
Traddles, who had stood his friend at Mr. Creakle's school, studying now
to be a lawyer also, and boarding, curiously enough, at the house of Mr.
Micawber, who had drifted back to London, still as poor and as hopeful
as ever and still "waiting for something to turn up."

In spite of these and all his new acquaintances, David was very lonely
at first and missed Agnes, who all through his life at Doctor Strong's
school had been his friend and adviser.

He saw her once when she was visiting in London, and then she had bad
news to tell him; her father had been steadily failing in health and
business, and little by little Uriah Heep, his red-headed clerk with the
clammy hands, had got him and his affairs into his power and made
himself a partner in the firm. David guessed that Heep had planned to
entrap her father so as to compel Agnes herself to marry him, and this
suspicion made David despise the clerk more and more. But he knew of no
way to help.

All this time he often saw Steerforth, but never guessed how often the
latter had been secretly to see little Em'ly or of the wicked part he
was playing. But one day David heard that Barkis, Peggotty's husband
(whose early courtship he himself had aided when he took her the message
"Barkis is willin'") had died, and David went at once to Yarmouth to try
to comfort his old nurse in her loss.

While he was there the blow came which caused such sorrow to all who
lived in the old house-boat. Little Em'ly, the pride and joy of Mr.
Peggotty's tender heart, ran away with Steerforth.

She left a letter, begging them to forgive her, especially her uncle,
Mr. Peggotty--and bidding them all good-by. It broke Mr. Peggotty's
heart, and Ham's, too. And David was scarcely less sorrowful. Because,
for what he had done, Steerforth, whose friendship had been so much to
him, could never be his friend ag