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"Yes!" cried Ninety-nine, who was seized with so strong a fit of energy, that he started to his feet on the instant; "I will."

"Why, you wretched, cadaverous, udhappy lookidg adibal, what do you bead? what's your botive id cobidg here, prepared to swear to a falsehood so bodstrous? You're too codtebptible to be revedged upod, or I'd take it out dow: I cad but spurd you, add treat your accusatiod with scord."

"This will not do, Tom," said the doctor, severely. "This will no longer do for me. I'll at once put a stop to it. I'll not be thus annoyed night after night."

"Well, but I have dot addoyed you!" cried Tom; "you've dot beed addoyed by be!"

"I have, sir, and you know it!"

"I kdow," replied Tom, "that I have dot."

"But here is proof of it."

"What proof? the proof idvolved id the evidedce of this codsubbate wretch? The bagistrate who would believe hib od his oath ought to be deprived of his cobbissiod."

"The idea," continued the doctor, "of prowling about in the middle of the night, and leaving the street-door open! I'm ashamed of you—perfectly ashamed of you! I couldn't have supposed that you would be guilty of an act so monstrous."

"It's of doe use," said Tom, "I kdow it's of doe use! but I tell you, father, agaid add agaid, that, sidce twelve o'clock, I've dot stirred frob this roob."

"I'll not believe it," said the doctor; "I will not believe it."

"I should think not," interposed Ninety-nine.

"Siledce, you ugly abortiod!" cried Tom, whom the sneer of Ninety-nine had enraged; "if I have adother word od the subject frob you, I'll walk id!"

"You shall walk out, sir!" said the doctor; "you shall not remain here: I'll not have the house disturbed in this way."

"The disturbadce has dot beed created by be."

"Go to bed, sir, and let me have no more of it: I'll no longer tolerate such practices. Go to bed."

The doctor and Ninety-nine then left the room—Ninety-nine, with great discretion, taking the lead—but he had no sooner reached the top of the stairs, than that discretion forsook him, and, turning to Tom, said, "I'll nail you!" an observation which so excited Tom's ire, that he rushed at him on the instant; but, before he could reach him, Ninety-nine, in his anxiety to get away, slipped, and glided to the bottom—not smoothly, no; but bumping in his progress the bottom of his spine, and causing him not only to call out, "oh!" but to pull a face, of which the prevailing expression would have puzzled Lavater himself.

"Keep back!" cried the doctor, "I command you;" and Tom, who felt that Ninety-nine had had quite enough of it, did not follow him up—or, rather, down; but the doctor descended, and assisted him to rise, and having done so, led him into the drawing-room, and gave him some brandy, and placed in his hand a small piece of that metal which has,