WhenherejoinedLittleDorrit，andtheyhadbegunwalkingasbefore，shesaidallatonce：
’IthinkIhadbettergo。Ihadbettergohome。’
’Don’tbedistressed，’saidClennam，’Ihaveansweredtheletters。
Theywerenothing。Youknowwhattheywere。Theywerenothing。’
’ButIamafraid，’shereturned，’toleavehim，Iamafraidtoleaveanyofthem。WhenIamgone，theypervert——buttheydon’tmeanit——evenMaggy。’
’Itwasaveryinnocentcommissionthatsheundertook，poorthing。
Andinkeepingitsecretfromyou，shesupposed，nodoubt，thatshewasonlysavingyouuneasiness。’
’Yes，Ihopeso，Ihopeso。ButIhadbettergohome!ItwasbuttheotherdaythatmysistertoldmeIhadbecomesousedtotheprisonthatIhaditstoneandcharacter。Itmustbeso。IamsureitmustbewhenIseethesethings。Myplaceisthere。Iambetterthere。itisunfeelinginmetobehere，whenIcandotheleastthingthere。Good-bye。Ihadfarbetterstayathome!’
Theagonisedwayinwhichshepouredthisout，asifitburstofitselffromhersuppressedheart，madeitdifficultforClennamtokeepthetearsfromhiseyesashesawandheardher。
’Don’tcallithome，mychild!’heentreated。’Itisalwayspainfultometohearyoucallithome。’
’Butitishome!WhatelsecanIcallhome？WhyshouldIeverforgetitforasinglemoment？’
’Youneverdo，dearLittleDorrit，inanygoodandtrueservice。’
’Ihopenot，OIhopenot!Butitisbetterformetostaythere；
muchbetter，muchmoredutiful，muchhappier。Pleasedon’tgowithme，letmegobymyself。Good-bye，Godblessyou。Thankyou，thankyou。’
Hefeltthatitwasbettertorespectherentreaty，anddidnotmovewhileherslightformwentquicklyawayfromhim。Whenithadflutteredoutofsight，heturnedhisfacetowardsthewaterandstoodthinking。
Shewouldhavebeendistressedatanytimebythisdiscoveryoftheletters；butsomuchso，andinthatunrestrainableway？
No。
Whenshehadseenherfatherbeggingwithhisthreadbaredisguiseon，whenshehadentreatedhimnottogiveherfathermoney，shehadbeendistressed，butnotlikethis。Somethinghadmadeherkeenlyandadditionallysensitivejustnow。Now，wastheresomeoneinthehopelessunattainabledistance？Orhadthesuspicionbeenbroughtintohismind，byhisownassociationsofthetroubledriverrunningbeneaththebridgewiththesameriverhigherup，itschangelesstuneupontheprowoftheferry-boat，somanymilesanhourthepeacefulflowingofthestream，heretherushes，therethelilies，nothinguncertainorunquiet？
Hethoughtofhispoorchild，LittleDorrit，foralongtimethere；
hethoughtofhergoinghome；hethoughtofherinthenight；hethoughtofherwhenthedaycameroundagain。AndthepoorchildLittleDorritthoughtofhim——toofaithfully，ah，toofaithfully!——
intheshadowoftheMarshalseawall。
MachineryinMotionMrMeaglesbestirredhimselfwithsuchpromptactivityinthematterofthenegotiationwithDanielDoycewhichClennamhadentrustedtohim，thathesoonbroughtitintobusinesstrain，andcalledonClennamatnineo’clockonemorningtomakehisreport。
’Doyceishighlygratifiedbyyourgoodopinion，’heopenedthebusinessbysaying，’anddesiresnothingsomuchasthatyoushouldexaminetheaffairsoftheWorksforyourself，andentirelyunderstandthem。Hehashandedmethekeysofallhisbooksandpapers——heretheyarejinglinginthispocket——andtheonlychargehehasgivenmeis“LetMrClennamhavethemeansofputtinghimselfonaperfectequalitywithmeastoknowingwhateverI
know。Ifitshouldcometonothingafterall，hewillrespectmyconfidence。UnlessIwassureofthattobeginwith，Ishouldhavenothingtodowithhim。“Andthere，yousee，’saidMrMeagles，’youhaveDanielDoyceallover。’
’Averyhonourablecharacter。’
’Oh，yes，tobesure。Notadoubtofit。Odd，butveryhonourable。Veryoddthough。Now，wouldyoubelieve，Clennam，’
saidMrMeagles，withaheartyenjoymentofhisfriend’seccentricity，’thatIhadawholemorninginWhat’s-his-nameYard——
’
’BleedingHeart？’
’AwholemorninginBleedingHeartYard，beforeIcouldinducehimtopursuethesubjectatall？’
’Howwasthat？’
’Howwasthat，myfriend？Inosoonermentionedyournameinconnectionwithitthanhedeclaredoff。’
’Declaredoffonmyaccount？’
’Inosoonermentionedyourname，Clennam，thanhesaid，“Thatwillneverdo!“Whatdidhemeanbythat？Iaskedhim。Nomatter，Meagles；thatwouldneverdo。Whywoulditneverdo？You’llhardlybelieveit，Clennam，’saidMrMeagles，laughingwithinhimself，’butitcameoutthatitwouldneverdo，becauseyouandhe，walkingdowntoTwickenhamtogether，hadglidedintoafriendlyconversationinthecourseofwhichhehadreferredtohisintentionoftakingapartner，supposingatthetimethatyouwereasfirmlyandfinallysettledasStPaul’sCathedral。“Whereas，“
sayshe，“MrClennammightnowbelieve，ifIentertainedhisproposition，thatIhadasinisteranddesigningmotiveinwhatwasopenfreespeech。WhichIcan’tbear，“sayshe，“whichIreallyamtooproudtobear。“’
’Ishouldassoonsuspect——’
’Ofcourseyouwould，’interruptedMrMeagles，’andsoItoldhim。
Butittookamorningtoscalethatwall；andIdoubtifanyothermanthanmyselfhelikesmeofoldcouldhavegothislegoverit。Well，Clennam。Thisbusiness-likeobstaclesurmounted，hethenstipulatedthatbeforeresumingwithyouIshouldlookoverthebooksandformmyownopinion。Ilookedoverthebooks，andformedmyownopinion。“Isit，onthewhole，for，oragainst？“
sayshe。“For，“saysI。“Then，“sayshe，“youmaynow，mygoodfriend，giveMrClennamthemeansofforminghisopinion。Toenablehimtodowhich，withoutbiasandwithperfectfreedom，I
shallgooutoftownforaweek。“Andhe’sgone，’saidMrMeagles；
that’stherichconclusionofthething。’
’Leavingme，’saidClennam，’withahighsense，Imustsay，ofhiscandourandhis——’
’Oddity，’MrMeaglesstruckin。’Ishouldthinkso!’
ItwasnotexactlythewordonClennam’slips，butheforboretointerrupthisgood-humouredfriend。
’Andnow，’addedMrMeagles，’youcanbegintolookintomattersassoonasyouthinkproper。Ihaveundertakentoexplainwhereyoumaywantexplanation，buttobestrictlyimpartial，andtodonothingmore。’
TheybegantheirperquisitionsinBleedingHeartYardthatsameforenoon。LittlepeculiaritieswereeasilytobedetectedbyexperiencedeyesinMrDoyce’swayofmanaginghisaffairs，buttheyalmostalwaysinvolvedsomeingenioussimplificationofadifficulty，andsomeplainroadtothedesiredend。Thathispaperswereinarrear，andthathestoodinneedofassistancetodevelopthecapacityofhisbusiness，wasclearenough；butalltheresultsofhisundertakingsduringmanyyearsweredistinctlysetforth，andwereascertainablewithease。Nothinghadbeendoneforthepurposesofthependinginvestigation；everythingwasinitsgenuineworkingdress，andinacertainhonestruggedorder。Thecalculationsandentries，inhisownhand，ofwhichthereweremany，werebluntlywritten，andwithnoveryneatprecision；butwerealwaysplainanddirectedstraighttothepurpose。ItoccurredtoArthurthatafarmoreelaborateandtakingshowofbusiness——suchastherecordsoftheCircumlocutionOfficemadeperhaps——mightbefarlessserviceable，asbeingmeanttobefarlessintelligible。
Threeorfourdaysofsteadyapplicationtenderedhimmasterofallthefactsitwasessentialtobecomeacquaintedwith。MrMeagleswasathandthewholetime，alwaysreadytoilluminateanydimplacewiththebrightlittlesafety-lampbelongingtothescalesandscoop。Betweenthemtheyagreeduponthesumitwouldbefairtoofferforthepurchaseofahalf-shareinthebusiness，andthenMrMeaglesunsealedapaperinwhichDanielDoycehadnotedtheamountatwhichhevaluedit；whichwasevensomethingless。Thus，whenDanielcameback，hefoundtheaffairasgoodasconcluded。
’AndImaynowavow，MrClennam，’saidhe，withacordialshakeofthehand，’thatifIhadlookedhighandlowforapartner，I
believeIcouldnothavefoundonemoretomymind。’
’Isaythesame，’saidClennam。
’AndIsayofbothofyou，’addedMrMeagles，’thatyouarewellmatched。Youkeephimincheck，Clennam，withyourcommonsense，andyousticktotheWorks，Dan，withyour——’
’Uncommonsense？’suggestedDaniel，withhisquietsmile。
’Youmaycallitso，ifyoulike——andeachofyouwillbearighthandtotheother。Here’smyownrighthanduponit，asapracticalman，tobothofyou。’
Thepurchasewascompletedwithinamonth。ItleftArthurinpossessionofprivatepersonalmeansnotexceedingafewhundredpounds；butitopenedtohimanactiveandpromisingcareer。Thethreefriendsdinedtogetherontheauspiciousoccasion；thefactoryandthefactorywivesandchildrenmadeholidayanddinedtoo；evenBleedingHeartYarddinedandwasfullofmeat。Twomonthshadbarelygonebyinall，whenBleedingHeartYardhadbecomesofamiliarwithshort-commonsagain，thatthetreatwasforgottenthere；whennothingseemednewinthepartnershipbutthepaintoftheinscriptiononthedoor-posts，DOYCEANDCLENNAM；whenitappearedeventoClennamhimself，thathehadhadtheaffairsofthefirminhismindforyears。
Thelittlecounting-housereservedforhisownoccupation，wasaroomofwoodandglassattheendofalonglowworkshop，filledwithbenches，andvices，andtools，andstraps，andwheels；which，whentheywereingearwiththesteam-engine，wenttearingroundasthoughtheyhadasuicidalmissiontogrindthebusinesstodustandtearthefactorytopieces。Acommunicationofgreattrap-
doorsinthefloorandroofwiththeworkshopaboveandtheworkshopbelow，madeashaftoflightinthisperspective，whichbroughttoClennam’smindthechild’soldpicture-book，wheresimilarrayswerethewitnessesofAbel’smurder。Thenoisesweresufficientlyremovedandshutoutfromthecounting-housetoblendintoabusyhum，interspersedwithperiodicalclinksandthumps。
Thepatientfiguresatworkwereswarthywiththefilingsofironandsteelthatdancedoneverybenchandbubbledupthrougheverychinkintheplanking。Theworkshopwasarrivedatbyastep-
ladderfromtheouteryardbelow，whereitservedasashelterforthelargegrindstonewheretoolsweresharpened。ThewholehadatonceafancifulandpracticalairinClennam’seyes，whichwasawelcomechange；and，asoftenasheraisedthemfromhisfirstworkofgettingthearrayofbusinessdocumentsintoperfectorder，heglancedatthesethingswithafeelingofpleasureinhispursuitthatwasnewtohim。