t point, Mr. Titmouse?" inquired Mr. Gammon,
with a smile; "pray let us, my dear sir, at once proceed to your
rooms--time is very short and valuable. I should vastly like to look at
these same insignificant papers of yours!"

In less than two minutes' further time, Mr. Gammon was sitting at
Titmouse's little rickety round table, at his lodgings, with a sheet of
paper before him, and a small pencil-case in his hand, asking him a
number of questions concerning his birth and family connections, and
taking down his answers very carefully. Mr. Titmouse was surprised at
the gentleman's knowledge of the family history of the Titmouses. As for
papers, &c., Mr. Titmouse succeeded in producing four or five old
letters and memoranda from the bottom of his trunk, and one or two
entries, in faded ink, on the fly-leaf of a Bible of his father's, which
he did not recollect having opened before for very many years, and of
which said entries, till pressed on the subject by Mr. Gammon, he had
been hardly aware of even the existence. With these several documents
Mr. Gammon was so much struck that he proposed to take them away with
him, for better and more leisurely examination, and safer custody, at
their office; but Mr. Titmouse significantly hinted at his very recent
acquaintance with Mr. Gammon, who, he intimated, was at liberty to come
and make exact copies of them whenever he pleased, in his (Mr.
Titmouse's) presence.

"Oh, certainly--yes," replied Mr. Gammon, slightly coloring at the
distrust implied by this observation; "I applaud your caution, Mr.
Titmouse. By all means keep these documents, and most carefully;
because, (I do not say that they _are_,) but it is quite possible that
they may become rather valuable--to _you_."

"Thank you, sir; and now, hoping you'll excuse the liberty," said
Titmouse, with a very anxious air, "I should most uncommonly like to
know what all this means--what is to turn up out of it all?"

"The law, my dear sir, is proverbially uncertain"----

"Oh, Lord! but the law can surely give one a _hint_"----

"_The law never hints_," interrupted Mr. Gammon, impressively, with a
bland smile.

"Well then, how did you come, sir, to know that there ever was such a
person as Mr. Gabriel Titmouse, my father? And what can come from _him_,
seeing he was only a bit of a shoemaker--unless he's _heir_ to
something?"

"Ah, yes--exactly; those are very interesting questions, Mr.
Titmouse--very!"----

"Yes, sir;