‘I don’t know,’ said Kit.
‘Come,’ retorted Quilp, ‘let’s have no more of this! Do you mean to say that you don’t know they went away by stealth, as soon as it was light this morning?’
‘No,’ said the boy, in evident surprise.
‘You don’t know that?’ cried Quilp. ‘Don’t I know that you were hanging about the house the other night, like a thief, eh? Weren’t you told then?’
‘No,’ replied the boy.
‘You were not?’ said Quilp. ‘What were you told then; what were you talking about?’
Kit, who knew no particular reason why he should keep the matter secret now, related the purpose for which he had come on that occasion, and the proposal he had made.
‘Oh!’ said the dwarf after a little consideration. ‘Then, I think they’ll come to you yet.’
‘Do you think they will?’ cried Kit eagerly.
‘Aye, I think they will,’ returned the dwarf. ‘Now, when they do, let me know; d’ye hear? Let me know, and I’ll give you something. I want to do ‘em a kindness, and I can’t do ‘em a kindness unless I know where they are. You hear what I say?’