"Oh, no, he wouldn't, David.
Dick thinks too much of me to come 'ere. You see, it would never do
for him to be seen frequentin' this 'ouse. I've _invited_ him 'ere,
I'll say that; but he's too square to come. He says it would injure me,
and my 'ouse would be watched as long as I live in it. And, besides, it
wouldn't be right to Ruby. Once or twice he 'as sneaked in as a peddler
or a plumber, by arrangement, poor chap, but never openly."
To David's annoyance, Joey went into a long dissertation on the
inscrutable virtues of Dick Cronk, concluding with the sage but
somewhat ambiguous remark that it not only "takes a thief to catch a
thief," but that an honest man is usually a thief when he is caught in
the company of thieves.
"You see, Davy, we ain't with the circus now. We're at 'ome in our own
'ouse, and things is different. A circus is one thing and a man's
castle is another. Leastwise, that's wot Dick says. He says I'm too
old to be caught in bad company. I'd die before I could live it down.
He's an odd chap, he is. And now, in regard to Brad, just you keep
cool until you 'ears from Dick.
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