'Tell your governor that Blathers and Duff is here, will you?' said the stouter man, smoothing down his hair, and laying a pair of handcuffs on the table.
Being desired to sit down, he put his hat on the floor, and taking a chair, motioned to Duff to do the same.
Blathers and Duff looked very knowing meanwhile, and occasionally exchanged a nod.
'I can't say, for certain, till I see the work, of course,' said Blathers; 'but my opinion at once is,--I don't mind committing myself to that extent,--that this wasn't done by a yokel; eh, Duff?'
Blathers and Duff, attended by the native constable, Brittles, Giles, and everybody else in short, went into the little room at the end of the passage and looked out at the window; and afterwards went round by way of the lawn, and looked in at the window; and after that, had a candle handed out to inspect the shutter with; and after that, a lantern to trace the footsteps with; and after that, a pitchfork to poke the bushes with.
'Wery pretty indeed it is,' remarked Duff, in an undertone.
'You always gave that to him' replied Duff. 'It was the Family Pet, I tell you.
'What a precious muddle-headed chap you are!' said Duff, addressing Mr.
His captor was Burton Duff, the jailer, as white as death and bearing upon his brow the livid mark of the iron bar.
On a table in the corridor lay the dead body of Burton Duff.
Double grog was going on the least excuse; there was
duff on odd days, as, for instance, if the squire heard it was any man's birthday, and always a barrel of apples standing broached in the waist for anyone to help himself that had a fancy.
There was no cloth to lay; the meals were either of oatmeal porridge or salt junk, except twice a week, when there was
duff: and though I was clumsy enough and (not being firm on my sealegs) sometimes fell with what I was bringing them, both Mr.