Rickarts, but then I have so many creditors, you see, that I
cannot be expected to know them all. I merely wanted to observe, Mr.
Rickarts, that, at least, _you_ have not been disappointed in your
expectations. Furthermore, that if you had made a bet of ten to one, it
wouldn't have been a bad speculation for you."

Cries of "Pshaw!" "Humbug!" "Swindled!" "Done for!" and kindred
expressions, arose from all sides. The spokesman said: "We ha'n't got no
time to joke, Mr. Whedell. We have only to remark, now, that the best
thing for you to do is to give up your furniture, without the trouble
and expense of a lot of lawsuits."

"You are perfectly welcome to the whole of it, my good friends," said
Mr. Whedell.

"The, deuce they are!" cried Quigg. "Why, you have just turned it over
to me!"

"I give it to all of you, singly and collectively, severally and
jointly," responded the happy, melancholy man. "Divide it among
yourselves, and leave me."

The small creditors, under twenty dollars, took a favorable view of the
proposition. One of them immediately jumped on a bureau having a marble
top and elaborately carved legs, and expressed his willingness to take
that for his pay. Another laid violent hands on the heavy yellow window
curtains, and declared himself satisfied. A third commenced ripping up a
corner of the carpet, and notified all persons that he claimed _that_.
The original owner of the bureau, curtains, and carpet, who had
furnished the house, and held an exalted rank among the principal
creditors, objected to this summary disposition of the property. Quigg,
in very emphatic but improper English, insisted that he had the largest
and first claim, and warned everybody on their peril not to remove a
thing from the house.

Mr. Whedell reclined in his chair, positively enjoying the spectacle,
which was all the more entertaining because the common wrath was now
diverted from him. Mrs. Chiffield wept behind her handkerchief. Her
bonnet was knocked on one side, and the flowers were seriously
disarranged, indicating a real case of distress.

_Sauve qui peut_ was now the motto among all the small creditors.
Notwithstanding the energetic objections of Quigg and others, they
rushed down stairs into the parlors, where the best furniture was kept,
and commenced, taking possession. Rickarts, the shoemaker, seated
himself on the top of the piano, and said he considered that his'n. But
a second after, a man milliner, who had fu