"Howard," cried Holloway, "I sent for you to tell you a great secret."
"I'm sorry for it," said Charles; "for I hate secrets."
"But you can keep a secret, man, can't you?"
"If it were necessary, I hope I could; but I'd rather not hear--"
"Pooh, nonsense," interrupted Holloway, "you must hear it; I'll trust to your honour; and, besides, I have not a moment to stand shilly shally: I've got a promise from my father to let me go down, this Easter, with Lord Rawson, to Marryborough, in his dog-cart, _randem-tandem_, you know."
"I did not know it, indeed," said Charles; "but what then?"
"Why, then, you see, I must be upon my good behaviour; and you would not do such an ill-natured trick as to betray me?"
"Betray you! I don't know what you mean," said Howard, astonished.
Holloway now briefly told him his stage-coach adventure, and concluded by saying, he was afraid that the mulatto woman should recollect either his face or voice, and should _blow him_.
"And what," said Howard, shocked at the selfishness which Holloway showed--"and what do you want me to do? why do you tell me all this?"
"Because," said Holloway, "I thought if you heard what the woman said, when she saw me, you would have got it all out of her to be sure; therefore I thought it best to trust you with my secret, and so put you upon honour with me. All I ask of you is, to hold your tongue about my--my--my--frolic, and just make some excuse for my not going into the room again where the mulatto woman is: you may tell Supine, if he asks what's become of me, that I'm gone to the music-shop, to get some new music for him: that will keep him quiet. Good by."
When Howard returned to the room where the mulatto woman lay, he expected to be questioned by Mr. Supine about Holloway's sudden departure; but this gentleman was not in the habit of paying great attention to his pupil's motions. He took it for granted that Holloway had escaped, because he did not wish to be called upon for a charitable subscription. From the same fear, Mr. Supine affected unusual absence of mind whilst Mr. Russell talked to the mulatto woman, and at length, professing himself unable to endure any longer the smell of smoke, he pushed his way into the street. "Mr. Holloway, I suppose," said he, "has taken himself home, very wisely, and I shall follow him: we make it a rule, I think, to miss one another; but to keep a young man in leading-strings would be a great bore. We're upon the best footing in the world together: as to the rest--"