The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 182: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

174 THE STRING OF PEARLS. | Vired? Then why don’t you retire to rest at once, Watson? There is, I am sure, nothing to keep you up now; | am going myself in a minute.’’ ‘| «© You don’t understand me, or you won't, which is much the same thing. I | did not mean that I was tired of the day, but [ am tired of doing all the work, | Fogg, while you—while you——” “ Well—while I is “ Pocket all the profit. Do you understand that? Now hark you. We will go partners, Fogg, not only in the present and the future, but in the past. I | will have half of your hoarded up gains, or i « Or what ?” Wi '| Mr. Watson made a peculiar movement, supposed to indicate the last kick of Hl | a culprit executed at the Old Bailey. | | You mean you will hang yourself,” said Fogg. ‘' My dear Watson, pray do so as soon as you think proper. Don’t let me hinder you.” | Hark you, Fogg. You may bea fox, but 1 am a badger. I mean that I will hang you, and this is the way to do it. My wife——” “ Your what?’ | My wife,” cried Watson, “has, in writing, the full particulars of all your crimes. She don’t live far off, but still far enough to make it a puzzle for you | to find her. If she don’t see me once in every forty-eight hours, she is to con- | clude something has happened to me, and then she is to go at once to Bow Street | with the statement, and lay it before a magistrate. You understand. Now | | have contrived, with what I got from you by fair means as well as by foul, ree | don’t agree, Mrs, Watson and I will start for New Zealand, or some such place, but—but, Fogg -——”’ | “Well ?” « We will denounce you before we go.” ‘¢ And what is to be the end of all this? The law has a long as well as a strong arm, Watson.” | know it. You would say it might be long enough to strike me.” Fogg nodded. | §° Leave me to take care of that. But as you want to know the result of all this, it is just this. I want to have my share, and I will have it. Give me a couple of thousand down, and half for the future.” Fogg was silent for a moment or two, and then he said— «Too much, Watson, too much. I have not so much.” «Bah! At your banker’s now you have exactly £11,267.” Fogg writhed. “You have been prying. Well, you shall have the two thousand.” “ On account.”’ '| Fogg writhed again. ‘I say you shall have so much, Watson, and you shall | keep the books, and have your clear half of all future proceeds. Is there anything else you have set your mind upon, because if you have, while we are talking || about business, you may as well state it, you know.” | No, there’s nothing else—I am satisfied. All I have to add is, that you had | better put your head into the fire than attempt to play any tricks withme, You | understand 2” ~* Perfectly.” | Fogg had made more resistance. The easy compliance of such a man with || Watson with a thousand vague conjectures. Already—aye, even before he leit | Foge’s room, Watson began to feel the uneasiness of his new position, and to | pay dearly for the money he was to have. Even money may be given an | exorbitant price for. When he was by himself, as he traversed the passage leading | to his own sleeping room, Watson could not forbear Jooking cautiously around '| him at times, as though gaunt murder stalked behind him, and he fastened his pane 5 ts EA comicbooks.com | and by robbing the patients besides, to save some money, and if you and I |. Watson was not altogether satisfied. He would haye been better pleased if anything that touched his pocket looked suspicious, and filled the mind of || rs, -J;- -eooe™| 1 Og > , ee Baadte =”