"You wanted me to forge a tombstone! D——d if you didn't!"
"You had better go home, Mr. Quirk, and take some physic to clear your head, for I am sure you're going wrong altogether!" said Gammon.
"Oh, Gammon, Gammon! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Come—honor among thieves! Be honest for once"——
"Your conduct is so extraordinary, Mr. Quirk, that I must request you to leave my room, sir"——
"I sha'n't—it's mine too"—quoth Quirk, snapping his fingers with a desperate air.
"Then I will, sir," replied Gammon, with a low bow; and, taking up his hat, moved towards the door.
"You sha'n't, Gammon—you mustn't!" cried Quirk, but in vain—Mr. Gammon had taken his final departure, leaving Mr. Quirk on the very verge of madness. By-and-by he went into Snap's room, who sat there the picture of misery and terror; for whereas it had always seemed to him that he had never been fairly admitted into the confidence of his senior partners in the very important matters which had been going on for the last two years—now that all things were going wrong, he was candidly given credit by Mr. Quirk and Mr. Gammon for having lent a helping hand to everything from the very beginning! In fact, he was frightened out of his wits at the terrible turn which matters were taking. 'T was he who had to stand the brunt of the horrid badgering of the three frenzied Jews; he was included in half-a-dozen indictments for fraud and conspiracy, at the instance of the aforesaid Israelites, and of the assignees of Mr. Tag-rag; and Heaven only could form a notion of what other good things were in store for him! He wondered vastly that they had not contrived to stick his name into the affidavits which had that day come in, and which seemed to have turned Mr. Quirk's head upside down! Conscious, however, of his own innocence, he resolved to hold on to the last, with a view, in the event of the partnership blowing up, of scraping together a nice little practice out of the remnants.
Half recklessly, and half in furtherance of some designs which he was forming, Gammon followed up, on the ensuing morning, his move with Mr. Quirk, by sending to him and to Mr. Snap a formal written notice of his intention to retire from the partnership, in conformity with the provisions of their articles, at the end of a calendar month from the date; and he resolved to take no part at all in the matter to which Mr. Quirk's attention had been so sternly challenged by the Court of King's Bench—leaving Mr. Quirk to struggle through it as best he might.
But what was Mr. Gammon to do?