I don't know what it was, but at those words, and the glare that accompanied them, his foot, already raised for further action, dropped quietly beside the other.
"I shall do it again if I choose," he said surlily.
"Then you'd better not choose," quietly said Jack.
"You've got no business here, that's what I say," exclaimed Horncastle, falling back upon a safer line of attack.
"Why haven't I ?" said Jack.

"I'm a clerk like you." "And you call yourself a gentleman too, I suppose ?" sneered the other.
Jack always fired up when any reference of this kind was made.
"I don't want _you_ to tell me whether I am," he retorted.
"Why, he's a regular cad," cried some one.

"I know him well; I saw him selling penn'orths of nuts a week or two ago in the Borough." "You hear that," said Horncastle, turning to Jack.

"Was it so ?" "I don't see what it's got to do with you," replied Jack; "but if you want to know, I was." "I thought so! I thought so!" exclaimed Horncastle; "a wretched shop- boy! Ugh! get away from me." And by one consent the company followed the example of their leader and left poor Jack isolated in a corner of the room, with only me to stand by him.
But he was not greatly afflicted by the incident, and made no attempt to assert his rights further.

And after all we got on very well and had a very jolly evening without the help of Mr Horncastle and his friends, and slept quite as soundly after our day's excitement as if we had been in the wholesale line all our lives..