第116章

’Iamquitealone，’Arthurexplainedastheywalkedon。’Mypartnerisaway，busilyengagedatadistanceonhisbranchofourbusiness，andyoushalldojustasyoulike。’

’Thankyou。Youdidn’ttakeparticularnoticeoflittleAltrojustnow；didyou？’saidPancks。

’No。Why？’

’He’sabrightfellow，andIlikehim，’saidPancks。’Somethinghasgoneamisswithhimto-day。Haveyouanyideaofanycausethatcanhaveoversethim？’

’Yousurpriseme!Nonewhatever。’

MrPancksgavehisreasonsfortheinquiry。Arthurwasquiteunpreparedforthem，andquiteunabletosuggestanexplanationofthem。

’Perhapsyou’llaskhim，’saidPancks，’ashe’sastranger？’

’Askhimwhat？’returnedClennam。

’Whathehasonhismind。’

’Ioughtfirsttoseeformyselfthathehassomethingonhismind，Ithink，’saidClennam。’Ihavefoundhimineverywaysodiligent，sograteful(forlittleenough)，andsotrustworthy，thatitmightlooklikesuspectinghim。Andthatwouldbeveryunjust。’

’True，’saidPancks。’But，Isay!Yououghtn’ttobeanybody’sproprietor，MrClennam。You’remuchtoodelicate。’

’Forthematterofthat，’returnedClennamlaughing，’IhavenotalargeproprietaryshareinCavalletto。Hiscarvingishislivelihood。HekeepsthekeysoftheFactory，watchesiteveryalternatenight，andactsasasortofhousekeepertoitgenerally；

butwehavelittleworkinthewayofhisingenuity，thoughwegivehimwhatwehave。No!Iamratherhisadviserthanhisproprietor。Tocallmehisstandingcounselandhisbankerwouldbenearerthefact。Speakingofbeinghisbanker，isitnotcurious，Pancks，thattheventureswhichrunjustnowinsomanypeople’sheads，shouldruneveninlittleCavalletto’s？’

’Ventures？’retortedPancks，withasnort。’Whatventures？’

’TheseMerdleenterprises。’

’Oh!Investments，’saidPancks。’Ay，ay!Ididn’tknowyouwerespeakingofinvestments。’

HisquickwayofreplyingcausedClennamtolookathim，withadoubtwhetherhemeantmorethanhesaid。Asitwasaccompanied，however，withaquickeningofhispaceandacorrespondingincreaseinthelabouringofhismachinery，Arthurdidnotpursuethematter，andtheysoonarrivedathishouse。

Adinnerofsoupandapigeon-pie，servedonalittleroundtablebeforethefire，andflavouredwithabottleofgoodwine，oiledMrPancks’sworksinahighlyeffectivemanner；sothatwhenClennamproducedhisEasternpipe，andhandedMrPancksanotherEasternpipe，thelattergentlemanwasperfectlycomfortable。

Theypuffedforawhileinsilence，MrPanckslikeasteam-vesselwithwind，tide，calmwater，andallothersea-goingconditionsinherfavour。Hewasthefirsttospeak，andhespokethus：

’Yes。Investmentsistheword。’

Clennam，withhisformerlook，said’Ah!’

’Iamgoingbacktoit，yousee，’saidPancks。

’Yes。Iseeyouaregoingbacktoit，’returnedClennam，wonderingwhy。

’Wasn’titacuriousthingthattheyshouldruninlittleAltro’shead？Eh？’saidPancksashesmoked。’Wasn’tthathowyouputit？’

’ThatwaswhatIsaid。’

’Ay!ButthinkofthewholeYardhavinggotit。Thinkoftheirallmeetingmewithit，onmycollectingdays，hereandthereandeverywhere。Whethertheypay，orwhethertheydon’tpay。Merdle，Merdle，Merdle。AlwaysMerdle。’

’Verystrangehowtheserunsonaninfatuationprevail，’saidArthur。

’An’tit？’returnedPancks。Aftersmokingforaminuteorso