"Oh, I've heard of it," said Thambits, complacently. "Billy Dolser tells me he does not think much of it."
"Is Billy Dolser a judge?" asked Laxton, with great scorn.
Thambits turned on him a look of mild reproach.
"Of course! Why he's got a paper of his own."
"Oh, that settles it!" returned Laxton, drily. "I thought myself it was a jolly good book, and written by a man who knew what he was talking about, but as that little blackguard Dolser hasn't been further East than Italy, he must be a capital judge of the book!"
"Why do you call him a blackguard?" asked Jiddy, removing his cigarette.
"Because he is one," growled Laxton, wrathfully--"a mean little sneak who vilifies people's character in that rag of a paper which ought to be burnt by the public hangman! Snakes and mosquitoes were created for some purpose, I suppose, but why such a little reptile as Dolser should be allowed to exist, I don't know."
Mr. Jiddy contributed himself to the "Pepper Box" in an underhand way, by listening to things he was not meant to hear, so he took up the cudgels on behalf of Mr. Dolser in a weakly, ferocious manner.
"Oh, I say, you know those words are actionable?"
"Are they," said Laxton, who had risen to his feet and was looking down from his tall height at the scrap of limp humanity in the chair, "you can repeat them to Dolser if you like, and if he doesn't think they are actionable I'll be happy to add a thrashing, so that he can have me up for assault."