"Come, come," said he, rather surlily, "don't be in a hurry till you have heard the nature of my proposal.

Here, Jess, a quart of the best ale.

Now, to begin, let us drink and be comfortable together." He passed the glass to Little first.

But the young man's blood was boiling with his wrongs, and this patronizing air irritated him to boot.
He took the glass in his hand, "Here's quick exposure--sudden death--and sure damnation--to all hypocrites and assassins!" He drained the glass to this toast, flung sixpence on the table, and strode out, white with passion himself, and leaving startled faces behind him.
"So be it," said Grotait; and his wicked little eye glittered dangerously.
That same evening, a signal, well known to certain workmen in Hillsborough, peeped in the window of "The Cutlers' Arms." And, in consequence, six or seven ill-conditioned fellows gathered about the doors and waited patiently for further information.
Amongst these was a sturdy fellow of about nine-and-twenty, whose existence was a puzzle to his neighbors.

During the last seven years he had worked only eighteen months all together.