ir. Miss Dombey's found!'

The boy with his open face, and flowing hair, and sparkling eyes,
panting with pleasure and excitement, was wonderfully opposed to Mr
Dombey, as he sat confronting him in his library chair.

'I told you, Louisa, that she would certainly be found,' said Mr Dombey,
looking slightly over his shoulder at that lady, who wept in company
with Miss Tox. 'Let the servants know that no further steps are
necessary. This boy who brings the information, is young Gay, from the
office. How was my daughter found, Sir? I know how she was lost.' Here
he looked majestically at Richards. 'But how was she found? Who found
her?'

'Why, I believe I found Miss Dombey, Sir,' said Walter modestly, 'at
least I don't know that I can claim the merit of having exactly found
her, Sir, but I was the fortunate instrument of--'

'What do you mean, Sir,' interrupted Mr Dombey, regarding the boy's
evident pride and pleasure in his share of the transaction with an
instinctive dislike, 'by not having exactly found my daughter, and by
being a fortunate instrument? Be plain and coherent, if you please.'

It was quite out of Walter's power to be coherent; but he rendered
himself as explanatory as he could, in his breathless state, and stated
why he had come alone.

'You hear this, girl?' said Mr Dombey sternly to the black-eyed. 'Take
what is necessary, and return immediately with this young man to fetch
Miss Florence home. Gay, you will be rewarded to-morrow.

'Oh! thank you, Sir,' said Walter. 'You are very kind. I'm sure I was
not thinking of any reward, Sir.'

'You are a boy,' said Mr Dombey, suddenly and almost fiercely; 'and what
you think of, or affect to think of, is of little consequence. You
have done well, Sir. Don't undo it. Louisa, please to give the lad some
wine.'

Mr Dombey's glance followed Walter Gay with sharp disfavour, as he left
the room under the pilotage of Mrs Chick; and it may be that his mind's
eye followed him with no greater relish, as he rode back to his Uncle's
with Miss Susan Nipper.

There they found that Florence, much refreshed by sleep, had dined, and
greatly improved the acquaintance of Solomon Gills, with whom she was on
terms of perfect confidence and ease. The black-eyed (who had cried so
much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent
and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or
reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it.