had completely taken Gammon aback; and he lost his presence of
mind, of course in such case his _temper_ quickly following. "Will you
favor me, Mr. Quirk, with an explanation of your extraordinarily absurd
and offensive observation?" said he, reddening more and more as he
looked at Mr. Quirk.

"You're a queer hand, Gammon," replied Quirk, with almost an equally
surprised and embarrassed air, for he could not resist a sort of
conviction that Gammon had fathomed what had been passing in his mind.

"What did you mean, Mr. Quirk, by your singular observation just now?"
said Gammon, calmly, having recovered his presence of mind.

"Mean? Why, that--we're _both_ queer hands, Gammon, ha, ha, ha!"
answered Quirk, with an anxious laugh.

"I shall leave Titmouse entirely--_entirely_, Mr. Quirk, in your hands;
I will have nothing henceforth whatever to do with him. I am quite sick
of him and his concerns already; I cannot bring myself to undertake such
an affair, and that was what I was thinking of,--when"----

"Eh? indeed! Well, to be sure! Only think!" said Quirk, dropping his
voice, looking to see that the two doors were shut, and resuming the
chair which he had lately quitted, "What do you think has been occurring
to _me_ in my own room, just now? Whether it would suit us better to
throw this monkey overboard, put ourselves confidentially in
communication with the party in possession, and tell him that--hem!--for
a--eh? You understand--eh? a con-si-de-ra-tion--a _suitable_
con-si-de-ra-tion!"

"Mr. Quirk! Heavens!" Gammon was really amazed.

"Well? You needn't open your eyes so very wide, Mr. Gammon--why
shouldn't it be done? You know we wouldn't be satisfied with a trifle,
of course. But suppose he'd agreed to buy our silence with four or five
thousand pounds, really, it's well worth considering! Upon my soul,
Gammon, it _is_ a hard thing on him when one makes the case one's
own!--no fault of his, and it is very hard for him to turn out, and for
such a--eugh!--such a wretch as Titmouse; you'd feel it yourself,
Gammon, if you were in his place, and I'm sure you'd think that four or
five thous"----

"But is not Titmouse our POOR NEIGHBOR?" said Gammon, with a sly smile.

"Why, _that's_ only one way of looking at it, Gammon! Perhaps the man we
are going to eject does a vast deal of good with the property; certainly
he bears a very high name in the county--and fancy Titmouse with ten
thousand a-year!"----

"Mr. Quirk,