‘Oh, hang preparation!’ interrupted Mr. Sponge.  ’I’ll take you as you are.  Never mind me.  I hate being made company of.  Just treat me like one of yourselves; toad-in-the-hole, dog-in-the-blanket, beef-steaks and oyster-sauce, rabbits and onions—­anything; nothing comes amiss to me.’

So saying, and while Jogglebury sat purple and unable to articulate, Mr. Sponge applied his hand to the ivory bell-knob and sounded an imposing peal.  Mr. Jogglebury sat wondering what was going to happen, and thinking what a wigging he would get from Mrs. J. if he didn’t manage to shake off his friend.  Above all, he recollected that they had nothing but haddocks and hashed mutton for dinner.

‘Tell Leather I want him,’ said Mr. Sponge, in a tone of authority, as the footman answered the summons; then, turning to his guest, as the man was leaving the room, he said, ’Won’t you take something after your drive—­cold meat, glass of sherry, soda-water, bottled porter—­anything in that line?’

In an ordinary way, Jogglebury would have said, ‘if you please,’ at the sound of the words ‘cold meat,’ for he was a dead hand at luncheon; but the fix he was in completely took away his appetite, and he sat wheezing and thinking whether to make another effort, or to wait the arrival of Leather.

Presently Leather appeared, jean-jacketed and gaitered, smoothing his hair over his forehead, after the manner of the brotherhood.

‘Leather,’ said Mr. Sponge, in the same tone of importance, ’I’m going to this gentleman’s’; for as yet he had not sufficiently mastered the name to be able to venture upon it in the owner’s presence.  ’Leather, I’m going to this gentleman’s, and I want you to bring me a horse over in the morning; or stay,’ said he, interrupting himself, and, turning to Jogglebury, he exclaimed, ’I dare say you could manage to put me up a couple of horses, couldn’t you? and then we should be all cosy and jolly together, you know.’

‘’Pon my word,’ gasped Jogglebury nearly choked by the proposal; ’’pon my word, I can hardly (puff) say, I hardly (wheeze) know, but if you’ll (puff—­wheeze) allow me, I’ll tell you what I’ll do:  I’ll (puff—­wheeze) home, and see what I can (puff) do in the way of entertainment for (puff—­wheeze) man as well as for (puff—­wheeze) horse.’

‘Oh, thank you, my dear fellow!’ exclaimed Sponge, seeing the intended dodge; ‘thank you, my dear fellow!’ repeated he; ’but that’s giving you too much trouble—­far too much trouble!—­couldn’t think of such a thing—­no, indeed, I couldn’t. I’ll tell you what we’ll do—­I’ll tell you what we’ll do.  You shall drive me over in that shandrydan-rattle-trap thing of yours’—­Sponge looking out of the window, as he spoke, at the queer-shaped, jumped-together, lack-lustre-looking vehicle, with a turnover seat behind, now in charge of a pepper-and-salt attired youth, with a shabby hat, looped up by a thin silver cord to an acorn on the crown, and baggy Berlin gloves—­’and I’ll just see what there is in the way of stabling; and if I think it will do, then I’ll give a boy sixpence or a shilling to come over to Leather, here,’ jerking his head towards his factotum; ‘if it won’t do, why then—­’