At this allusion to charity Mr, Moulder snuffed through his nose to show his great disgust, but he made no further answer. Mr. Dockwrath, who was determined not to yield, but who had nothing to gain by further fighting, bowed his head, and declared that he felt very much obliged. Whether or no there was any touch of irony in his tone, Mr. Moulder's ears were not fine enough to discover. So they now sat round the fire together, the attorney still keeping his seat in the middle, And then Mr. Moulder ordered his little bit of steak with his tea, 'With the gravy in it, James,' he said, solemnly. 'And a bit of fat, and a few slices of onion, thin mind, put on raw, not with all the taste fried out; and tell the cook if she don't do it as it should be done, I'll be down into the kitchen and do it myself. You'll join me, Kantwise, eh?'
'Well, I think not; I dined at three, you know.'
'Dined at three! What of that? a dinner at three won't last a man for ever. You might as well join me.'
'No, I think not. Have you got such a thing as a nice red herring in the house, James?'
'Get one round the corner, sir.'
'Do, there's a good fellow; and I'll take it for a relish with my tea. I'm not so fond of your solids three times a day. They heat the blood too much.'
'Bother,' grunted Moulder; and then they went to their evening meal, over which we will not disturb them. The steak, we may presume, was cooked aright, as Mr. Moulder did not visit the kitchen, and Mr. Kantwise no doubt made good play with his unsubstantial dainty, as he spoke no further till his meal was altogether finished.
'Did you ever hear anything of that Mr. Mason who lives near Bradford?' asked Mr. Kantwise, addressing himself to Mr. Moulder, as soon as the things had been cleared from the table, and that latter gentleman had been furnished with a pipe and a supply of cold without.
'I remember his father when I was a boy,' said Moulder, not troubling himself to take his pipe from his mouth. 'Mason and Martock in the Old Jewry; very good people they were too.'
'He's decently well off now, I suppose, isn't he?' said Kantwise, turning away his face, and looking at his companion out of the corners of his eyes.
"I suppose he is. That place there by the road-side is all his own, I take it. Have you been at him with some of your rusty, rickety tables and chairs?'
'Mr. Moulder, you forget that there is a gentleman here who won't understand that you're at your jokes. I was doing business at Groby Park, but I found the party uncommon hard to deal with.'
'Didn't complete the transaction?'
