54 Captain Dahber. 



Dabber, leaving his wife at the hotel, wended his way 

 into the City to call on Charlie, and invite him to dinner 

 and the play that very evening, 



''How glad the dear boy will be to see me, to be sure," 

 thought the worthy old gentleman, as he plodded steadily 

 along Cheapside ; " I'll ask 'em to give him a holiday to- 

 morrow, and his mother and me will have him all to our- 

 selves, and we'll make a reg'lar day of it — do the Tower 

 o' London and the Monyment — we'll see a little life, in 

 fact, the three of us. Ha ! ha ! " 



'' Mr. Dabber has not been to the office now for three 

 weeks — laid up with pleurisy at his father's place in the 

 country. He is expected back, however, to-morrow or 

 the next day. Who shall I say called ? " '' I — I won't 

 leave any name, thank you," faintly murmured the poor 

 old man. " Merely say an old friend of his called. 

 That will be sufficient. Good morning, sir, and thank 

 you." 



Poor old Dabber, on getting into the street, at once took 

 a hackney coach and drove straight to the boarding-house 

 in Bloomsbury. As he expected, precisely the same 

 answer awaited him here. That was not all, however. 

 When the mistress of the establishment turned up and 

 heard from his father's own lips that Master Charlie was 

 not where he was supposed to be, a sudden light seemed 

 to dawn upon her, and forthwith such an account of his 

 son's goings-on was poured into Mr. Dabber, senior's, ears, 

 as fairly horrified him. When the landlady, tightening 

 her lips and drawing in her breath, got as far in her 

 narrative as : ''Now, I think I can guess what has become 

 of Betsy ! " (alluding to an under-housemaid of a frivolous 



