“No, his name’s Lock, sir—Peter Lock. Funny you should have mentioned Pash, though. ’E was related to old ’Ennery Pash. You know, sir, the old chap they said was a miser.”
“I’ve heard of him,” admitted Mr. Lane.
“Mind you, I’ve never really swallowed the yarn that ’e was a miser,” declared Mr. Tridge. “Only one ’as to agree with one’s customers, and show an interest in ’em, you know. But as for old Pash being a miser—I wouldn’t like to bet on it. I know ’e used to ’ave a lot of registered letters come for ’im, but that don’t prove anything, do it? And as for that tale about ’im being seen with stacks of notes as thick as a pack of cards—well, I never met anyone as could swear to it, anyway. Besides, they never found none in ’is cottage afterwards, though they searched every ’ole and corner. Ah, a queer old chap, ’e wos! I can see ’im now, sitting beside ’is fire in that old arm-chair of ’is. ’E never stirred from it if ’e could ’elp it. ’E regular loved that old chair of ’is. Once ’is chimney caught light, and bless me if that chair wasn’t the first thing ’e thought of to save!”
“Really?” said Mr. Lane, with interest.
“And truly,” affirmed Mr. Tridge. “Soon as ever that chimney began to blaze, ’e lugged that chair outdoors. Ah, and ’e wouldn’t leave it, neither, to go in and rescue anything else. ’E just sat tight on it there, out in the middle of the road, and let some one else put out the fire. ’E said ’e wouldn’t leave ’is old chair in case some one stole it. A shabby, broken old chair like that, fancy!” scornfully concluded Mr. Tridge. “No wonder folk thought ’im a bit dotty!”
“Why, perhaps he’d—” exclaimed. Mr. Lane starting.
“Steady, sir, or I’ll be cutting you,” warned Mr. Tridge. “P’r’aps what, you was a-going to say?”
“Perhaps—perhaps he was very fond of it,” said Mr. Lane, a trifle weakly.
“I been a-telling you he was,” remarked Mr. Tridge. “But there! Old people like ’im often ’ave queer fancies like that!”
As one dismissing a thoroughly exhausted subject, Mr. Tridge turned the talk to the doings of Parliament, expounding his views with no more interruption than an occasional monosyllable interjected in a preoccupied way by his client.