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。