If it hadn't been for me to-day, he'd have had that 'ere Roman down, and made a riot of it, in another minute.' 'And why not ?' cried Hugh in a surly voice, as he overheard this last remark.

'Where's the good of putting things off?
Strike while the iron's hot; that's what I say.' 'Ah!' retorted Dennis, shaking his head, with a kind of pity for his friend's ingenuous youth; 'but suppose the iron an't hot, brother! You must get people's blood up afore you strike, and have 'em in the humour.
There wasn't quite enough to provoke 'em to-day, I tell you.

If you'd had your way, you'd have spoilt the fun to come, and ruined us.' 'Dennis is quite right,' said Gashford, smoothly.

'He is perfectly correct.

Dennis has great knowledge of the world.' 'I ought to have, Muster Gashford, seeing what a many people I've helped out of it, eh ?' grinned the hangman, whispering the words behind his hand.
The secretary laughed at this jest as much as Dennis could desire, and when he had done, said, turning to Hugh: 'Dennis's policy was mine, as you may have observed.