"Young'un, I say, take your hand out of my neckhan'kercher! Hold up! None o' yer chokin' games! Quit, I say! or, by hokey, I'll settle ye!" "_Thought_sh'dmakeyesquawk, ol't'bacc'worm! Go'n'tocl'out? Go'n'tovacateprem'scs?" "Ooo-arr-awkk!" said the man, under the pressure of a tightening cravat, at the same time giving the assailant "a settler," as he had threatened. The two unfortunate women had hitherto looked down upon the conflict, as celestial beings might upon the affairs of men, with no small degree of interest, but clad in robes too ethereal to descend. But when they saw Charles felled to the floor, and a deathlike silence ensued, they forgot their fears, and rushed down the stairs. The officer had already raised Charles up. He was stunned, senseless, and his face was covered with blood. "You brute! you have murdered him!" exclaimed Marcia. "Guess not, Ma'am. Wet his head in col' water, put him to bed, an' he'll sleep it off." "It's useless to talk to such a fellow," whispered Mrs. Sandford; "besides, we want his aid to carry Charles upstairs." "Ye see, I couldn't help it, Ma'am. He nigh about choked me to death, and I give him fair warnin'." "Never mind now about the quarrel," said Mrs. Sandford; "you help him upstairs to his room, and we'll bathe his head." While the officer was carrying the young man up-stairs, Mrs. Sandford put on a shawl, and, by the time he had reached the second flight, she opened a door, and lighted the gas with a taper, saying,-- "In here, if you please. My brother Henry's room is the most convenient." The officer's eyes twinkled. "So this is Mr. Sandford's room?" "Yes, but he is absent, as you were told before. Lay Charles on the bed, if you please. There, that will do. I will attend to him now. You can return to the lower story." "In a minit, Ma'am. Duty is duty, and this 'ere accident saves some trouble," casting sharp glances around the room. The facts, that Sandford had drawn from the bank, and that he had borrowed from Tonsor, were known to the creditors. The officer had determined, therefore, to make what search he could for the money. The unlooked-for accident had given him the opportunity he wanted. "What do you mean, Sir? Go back to your place." "Softly, Ma'am, softly! Duty is duty; an' 'f any damage is done, I'm responsible." His eyes fastened upon a dressing-case that lay on a table near the mirror,--apparently the last article handled by the occupant of the room. "No robbery, Ma'am," said he, opening the case, and taking out its contents. "Razors and brushes, and such like, is personal, and not subject to levy; but these, Ma'am, you see, air." He held up a pocket-book full of bank-notes. "I'll count 'em before you, Ma'am, if you please, so's there'll be no mistake. Thirteen thousand! A pretty good haul! I'll go down, now. If anythin's wantin' for the chap when he comes to, jest le'me know."