them down stairs on
speculation. This idea, however, he abandoned. He was turning into
his room again, still growling vengefully, when his eyes met those of
the watchful Richard.

'Have YOU been making that horrible noise?' said the single gentleman.

'I have been helping, sir,' returned Dick, keeping his eye upon him,
and waving the ruler gently in his right hand, as an indication of what
the single gentleman had to expect if he attempted any violence.

'How dare you then,' said the lodger, 'Eh?'

To this, Dick made no other reply than by inquiring whether the lodger
held it to be consistent with the conduct and character of a gentleman
to go to sleep for six-and-twenty hours at a stretch, and whether the
peace of an amiable and virtuous family was to weigh as nothing in the
balance.

'Is my peace nothing?' said the single gentleman.

'Is their peace nothing, sir?' returned Dick. 'I don't wish to hold
out any threats, sir--indeed the law does not allow of threats, for to
threaten is an indictable offence--but if ever you do that again, take
care you're not sat upon by the coroner and buried in a cross road
before you wake. We have been distracted with fears that you were
dead, Sir,' said Dick, gently sliding to the ground, 'and the short and
the long of it is, that we cannot allow single gentlemen to come into
this establishment and sleep like double gentlemen without paying extra
for it.'

'Indeed!' cried the lodger.

'Yes, Sir, indeed,' returned Dick, yielding to his destiny and saying
whatever came uppermost; 'an equal quantity of slumber was never got
out of one bed and bedstead, and if you're going to sleep in that way,
you must pay for a double-bedded room.'

Instead of being thrown into a greater passion by these remarks, the
lodger lapsed into a broad grin and looked at Mr Swiveller with
twinkling eyes. He was a brown-faced sun-burnt man, and appeared
browner and more sun-burnt from having a white nightcap on. As it was
clear that he was a choleric fellow in some respects, Mr Swiveller was
relieved to find him in such good humour, and, to encourage him in it,
smiled himself.

The lodger, in the testiness of being so rudely roused, had pushed his
nightcap very much on one side of his bald head. This gave him a
rakish eccentric air which, now that he had leisure to observe it,
charmed Mr Swiveller exceedingly; therefore, by way of propitiation, he
expressed his hope that the gentleman was goin