She will get back four pun ten out of it."
Here the clerk put in his word. "And there's five pounds paid, I forgot
to tell you."
"Oh! left a deposit, did he?"
"No, sir. But the laughing hyena gave you five pounds at the end of the
sale."
"The laughing hyena, Mr. Jones?"
"Oh! beg pardon; that is what we call him in the room. He has got such a
curious laugh."
"Oh! I know the gent. He is a retired doctor. I wish he'd laugh less
and buy more: and HE gave you five pounds towards the young gentleman's
arm-chair! Well, I should as soon have expected blood from a flint. You
have got five pounds to pay, sir: so now the chair will cost your mamma
ten shillings. Give him the order and the change, Mr. Jones."
Christopher and Rosa talked this over in the room whilst the men were
looking out their purchases. "Come," said Rosa; "now I forgive him
sneering at me; his heart is not really hard, you see." Staines, on the
contrary, was very angry. "What!" he cried, "pity a boy who made one
bad bargain, that, after all, was not a very bad bargain; and he had no
kindness, nor even common humanity, for my beautiful Rosa, inexperienced
as a child, and buying for her husband, like a good, affectionate,
honest creature, amongst a lot of sharpers and hard-hearted cynics--like
himself.
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