While Sam sat with his father talking matters over, the red-nosed
preacher came sidling in to inquire whether Mrs. Weller's will had not
left some money for him. He felt so much at home that he went to the
cupboard and poured himself out a big tumbler of his favorite pineapple
rum. This was more than old Tony Weller could stand. He fell upon the
old hypocrite, kicked him through the door and ducked him in the horse
trough.
Mr. Pickwick, meanwhile, had been arranging to buy the release of Jingle
and Job Trotter, and to send them to the West Indies, where they might
have a chance to make an honest living. While he was attending to this
at his lawyer's, a prolonged knock came at the door. It was Joe, Mr.
Wardle's fat boy, erect, but gone fast asleep between his knocks.
Mr. Wardle came up from his carriage, delighted to see his old friend,
of whose imprisonment he had just heard. He told Mr. Pickwick that his
daughter Emily had fallen in love with Snodgrass, and that, discovering
it, he had brought her to London to ask the advice of Mr. Pickwick in
the matter. While they talked he sent the fat boy back to the inn to
tell Emily that Mr. Pickwick would dine there with them.
The fat boy went on this errand, and coming suddenly into the inn
sitting-room, discovered Emily, with her waist encircled with
Snodgrass's arm while Arabella and her pretty housemaid were obligingly
looking out of the window. There was but one thing to do: they bribed
the fat boy not to tell!
Snodgrass, unluckily, stayed too long. As he was leaving, he heard Mr.
Wardle, with Mr. Pickwick and Winkle, coming up the stair. He was
obliged to retreat, and took refuge in Mr. Wardle's bedroom, from which
there was no escape, save through the dining-room.
The dinner hour was a painful one to Emily, for the fat boy's secret
kept him awake, and he winked at her and at Arabella so often that Mr.
Wardle noticed it. The latter sent him into the bedroom finally for his
snuff-box and he came out very pale, Mr. Snodgrass having seized him
there, and begged him to tell some one secretly to release him.
Accordingly the fat boy made desperate efforts to attract Mr. Pickwick's
attention--first by making faces at him when he thought no one else was
looking and finally by running a pin into his leg. But this did not have
the desired results. Mr. Pickwick concluded he was crazy, and Mr. Wardle
was about to have him taken down stairs, when into the confusion, with a
very red face, walked Snodgrass, out of the bedroom. He explained his
presence there, declared his love for Emily, was forgiven on the spot
and joined the dinner.
The happiness of all was complete when old Mr. Winkle arrived (having
made up his mind to see his son's wife and judge for himself) and found
Arabella so sweet that he kissed her and forgave Winkle on the instant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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