" I mean to tuck myself up," says the poor
forlorn child, " and I don't mean to jump. I
mean to crawl, I do—and so I tell you!"

With that, he set to work, tucking in the
clothes tight all down the sides of the
cushions, but leaving them open at the foot.
Then, getting up on his knees, and looking
hard at Trottle, as much as to say, " What
do you mean by offering to help such a handy
little chap as me? " he began to untie the
big shawl for himself, and did it, too, in less
than half a minute. Then, doubling the
shawl up loose over the foot of the bed, he
says, " I say, look here," and ducks under
the clothes, head first, worming his way up
and up softly, under the blanket and
counterpane, till Trottle saw the top of the large
nightcap slowly peep out on the bolster. This
over-sized head-gear of the child's had so
shoved itself down in the course of his journey
to the pillow, under the clothes, that when
he got his face fairly out on the bolster, he
was all nightcap down to his mouth. He soon
freed himself, however, from this slight
encumbrance by turning the ends of the cap up
gravely to their old place over his eyebrows—
looked at Trottle—said, " Snug, ain't it?
Good-bye! "—  popped his face under the
clothes again—and left nothing to be seen of
him but the empty peak of the big nightcap
standing up sturdily on end in the middle of
the bolster.

"What a young limb it is, ain't it? " says
Benjamin's mother, giving Trottle a cheerful
dig with her elbow. " Come on! you won't
see no more of him to-night! "—

"And so I tell you! " sings out a shrill,
little voice under the bedclothes, chiming in
with a playful finish to the old woman's last
words.

If Trottle had not been, by this time,
positively resolved to follow the wicked secret
which accident had mixed him up with,
through all its turnings and windings,
right on to the end, he would have probably
snatched the boy up then and there, and
carried him off from his garret prison,
bed-clothes and all. As it was, he put a strong
check on himself, kept his eye on future
possibilities, and allowed Benjamin's mother to
lead him down-stairs again.

"Mind them top bannisters," says she, as
Trottle laid his hand on them. " They are as
rotten as medlars every one of 'em."

"When people come to see the premises,"
says Trottle, trying to feel his way a little
farther into the mystery of the House, " you
don't bring many of them up here, do
you?"

"Bless your heart alive! " says she,
"nobody ever comes now. The outside of the
house is quite enough to warn them off.
More's the pity, as I say. It used to keep
me in spirits, staggering 'em all, one after
another, with the frightful high rent—specially
the women, drat 'em.; What's the rent:
of this house? '—' Hundred and twenty
pound a-year?' 'Hundred and twenty?
why, there ain't a house in the street as lets
for more than eighty! '—' Likely enough,
ma'am; other landlords may lower their
rent.s if they please; but this here landlord
sticks to his rights, and means to have as
much for his house as his father had before
him! ' —' But the neighbourhood's gone off
since then! '—' Hundred and twenty pound,
ma'am.'—' The landlord must be mad! '
—' Hundred and twenty pound, ma'am.'
—'Open the door you impertinent woman! '
Lord! what a happiness it was to see 'em
bounce out, with that awful rent a-ringing
in their ears all down the street!"

She stopped on the second-floor landing to
treat herself to another chuckle, while Trottle
privately posted up in his memory what he
had just heard. " Two points made out," he
thought to himself: "the house is kept empty
on purpose, and the way it's done is to ask a
rent that nobody will pay."

"Ah, deary me! " says Benjamin's mother,
changing the subject on a sudden, and twisting
back with a horrid, greedy quickness to
those awkward money-matters which she had
broached down in the parlour. " What we've
done, one way and another for Mr. Forley, it
isn't in words to tell! That nice little bit of
business of ours ought to be a bigger bit of
business, considering the trouble we take,
Benjamin and me, to make the imp up-stairs
as happy as the day is long. If good Mr.
Forley would only please to think a little
more of what a deal he owes to Benjamin
and me"

"That's just it," says Trottle, catching her
up short in desperation, and seeing his way,
by the help of those last words of hers to
slipping cleverly through her fingers. " What
should you say, if I told you that Mr. Forley
was nothing like so far from thinking
about that little matter as you fancy? You
would be disappointed, now, if I told you
that I had come to-day without the money '?"
—(her lank old jaw fell, and her villauous
old eyes glared, in a perfect state of panic,
at that! )—" But what should you say, if I
told you that Mr. Forley was only waiting
for my report, to send me here next Monday,
at dusk, with a bigger bit of business
for us two to do together than ever you
think for? What should you say to
that?"

The old wretch came so near to Trottle,
before she answered, and jammed him up
confidentially so close into the corner of the
landing, that his throat, in a manner, rose at
her.

"Can you count it off, do you think, on
more than that? " says she, holding up her
four skinny fingers and her long crooked
thumb, all of a tremble, right before his face.

"What do you say to two hands, instead of
one? " says he, pushing past her, and getting
down-stairs as fast as he could.

What she said Trottle thinks it best not to