"Mr. Quirk," said Gammon, sternly, "once for all, if this sort of low business is to go on, I'll leave the firm, come what will!" [It flickered across his mind that Titmouse would be a capital client to start with on his own account.] "I protest our names will quite stink in the profession." "Good, Mr. Gammon, good!" interposed Snap, warmly; "your little action for the usury penalties the other day came off so uncommon well! the judge's compliment to you was _so_ nice"---- "Let me tell you, Mr. Snap," interrupted Gammon, reddening---- "Pho! Come! Can't be helped--fortune of the war,"--interrupted the head of the firm,--"there's only one thing to be looked to,--_Is Pitch solvent?_--of course we've security for costs out of pocket--eh, Snap?" Now the fact was, that poor Snap had picked up Pitch at one of the police offices, and, in his zeal for business, had undertaken his case on pure speculation, relying on the apparent strength of the plaintiff's case--Pitch being only a waterman attached to a coach stand. When, therefore, the very ominous question of Mr. Quirk met Snap's ear, he suddenly happened (at least, he chose to appear to think so) to hear himself called for from the clerk's room, and bolted out of Mr. Gammon's room rather unceremoniously. "Snap will be the ruin of the firm, Mr. Quirk," said Gammon, with an air of disgust. "But I really must get on with the brief I'm drawing; so, Mr. Quirk, we can talk about Titmouse to-morrow!" The brief he was drawing up was for a defendant who was going to nonsuit the plaintiff, (a man with a large family, who had kindly lent the defendant a considerable sum of money,) solely because of the _want of a stamp_. Quirk differed in opinion with Gammon, and, as he resumed his seat at his desk, he could not help writing the words, "_Quirk and Snap_," and thinking how well such a firm would sound and work--for Snap was verily a chip of the old block!