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Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend

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Book the First The Cup and the Lip Chapter 1 On the Look Out

Word Count: 1926    |    Released on: 18/11/2017

dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark

ould not be a fisherman; his boat had no cushion for a sitter, no paint, no inscription, no appliance beyond a rusty boathook and a coil of rope, and he could not be a waterman; his boat was too crazy and too small to take in cargo for delivery, and he could not be a lighterman or river-carrier; there was no clue to what he looked for, but he looked for something, with a most intent and searching gaze

. Half savage as the man showed, with no covering on his matted head, with his brown arms bare to between the elbow and the shoulder, with the loose knot of a looser kerchief lying low on his bare breast in a wilderness of beard and whisker, with such dress as he wor

runs strong here. Keep her

t happened now, that a slant of light from the setting sun glanced into the bottom of the boat, and, touching a rotten stain there which bore

ly aware of it, though so intent on the

g-chain and rope, at every stationery boat or barge that split the current into a broadarrowhead, at the offsets from the piers of Southwark Bridge, at the paddles of the river steamboats as they beat the filthy water, at the f

her sculling; presently the boat swung round, quivered as from a sudd

n the river, kept the boat in that direction going before the tide. Until now, the boat had barely held her own, and had hovered about one spot; but now,

hem over the side. In his right hand he held something, and he washed that in the river too. It was money. He chinked it

zzi

r face was very pale. He was a hook-nosed man, and with that and his bright

thing off

ut it

of the sculls. I'll take

an't indeed. Father! - I

laces, but her terrified expostulatio

rt can i

. But I can

u hate the sight o

ot like it

iving! As if it wasn't

in her rowing, seeming to turn deadly faint. It escaped his attention

ked out of the river alongside the coal barges. The very basket that you slept in, the tide washed ashore. The very ro

d it out lovingly towards him: then, without speaking, she resumed her rowing, as another boat of sim

leer, who sculled her and who was alone, 'I know'd

ther, drily. 'So yo

pard

r, and the new comer, keeping half his boat's lengt

, pardner - don't fret yourself - I didn't touch him.' This was in answer to a quick impatient movement on the part of Gaffer: the

y many tides, ain't he pardner? Such is my out-of-luck ways, you see! He must have passed me when he went up last t

t Lizzie who had pulled on her hood again. Both men then loo

xt us. Shall I take

tone that the man, after a blank sta

ing as has disagreed with

ve been swallowing too much of that wo

no pardner of mine,

man. Accused of robbing a live man!'

en accused of robbing

ULDN'T

't you,

d. What world does money belong to? This world. How can money be a corpse's? Can a corpse own it, want it, spend it, claim it, miss it

l you wha

lor, a live sailor. Make the most of it and think yourself lucky, but don't think after that to come over ME with your pard

hink to get rid o

fingers with the stretcher, or take a pick at your head with the boat-hook.

ked, and took a survey of what he had in tow. What he had in tow, lunged itself at him sometimes in an awful manner when the boat was checked, and sometimes seemed to try to wrench itself away, though for the most part

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1 Book the First The Cup and the Lip Chapter 1 On the Look Out2 Chapter 2 The Man from Somewhere3 Chapter 3 Another Man4 Chapter 4 The R. Wilfer Family5 Chapter 5 Boffin's Bower6 Chapter 6 Cut Adrift7 Chapter 7 Mr Wegg Looks After Himself8 Chapter 8 Mr Boffin in Consultation9 Chapter 9 Mr and Mrs Boffin in Consultation10 Chapter 10 A Marriage Contract11 Chapter 11 Podsnappery12 Chapter 12 The Sweat of an Honest Man's Brow13 Chapter 13 Tracking the Bird of Prey14 Chapter 14 The Bird of Prey Brought Down15 Chapter 15 Two New Servants16 Chapter 16 Minders and Re-minders17 Chapter 17 A Dismal Swamp18 Book the Second Birds of a Feather Chapter 1 Of an Educational Character19 Chapter 2 Still Educational20 Chapter 3 A Piece of Work21 Chapter 4 Cupid Prompted22 Chapter 5 Mercury Prompting23 Chapter 6 A Riddle Without an Answer24 Chapter 7 In which a Friendly Move is Originated25 Chapter 8 In which an Innocent Elopement Occurs26 Chapter 9 In which the Orphan Makes His Will27 Chapter 10 A Successor28 Chapter 11 Some Affairs of the Heart29 Chapter 12 More Birds of Prey30 Chapter 13 A Solo and a Duett31 Chapter 14 Strong of Purpose32 Chapter 15 The Whole Case So Far33 Chapter 16 An Anniversary Occasion34 Book the Third A Long Lane Chapter 1 Lodgers in Queer Street35 Chapter 2 A Respected Friend in a New Aspect36 Chapter 3 The Same Respected Friend in More Aspects than One37 Chapter 4 A Happy Return of the Day38 Chapter 5 The Golden Dustman Falls into Bad Company39 Chapter 6 The Golden Dustman Falls into Worse Company40 Chapter 7 The Friendly Move Takes up a Strong Position41 Chapter 8 The End of a Long Journey42 Chapter 9 Somebody Becomes the Subject of a Prediction43 Chapter 10 Scouts Out44 Chapter 11 In the Dark45 Chapter 12 Meaning Mischief46 Chapter 13 Give a Dog a Bad Name, and Hang Him47 Chapter 14 Mr Wegg Prepares a Grindstone for Mr Boffin's Nose48 Chapter 15 The Golden Dustman at His Worst49 Chapter 16 The Feast of the Three Hobgoblins50 Chapter 17 A Social Chorus51 Book the Fourth A Turning Chapter 1 Setting Traps52 Chapter 2 The Golden Dustman Rises a Little53 Chapter 3 The Golden Dustman Sinks Again54 Chapter 4 A Runaway Match55 Chapter 5 Concerning the Mendicant's Bride56 Chapter 6 A Cry for Help57 Chapter 7 Better to Be Abel than Cain58 Chapter 8 A Few Grains of Pepper59 Chapter 9 Two Places Vacated60 Chapter 10 The Dolls' Dressmaker Discovers a Word61 Chapter 11 Effect is Given to the Dolls' Dressmaker's Discovery62 Chapter 12 The Passing Shadow63 Chapter 13 Showing How the Golden Dustman Helped to Scatter Dust64 Chapter 14 Checkmate to the Friendly Move65 Chapter 15 What was Caught in the Traps that Were Set66 Chapter 16 Persons and Things in General67 Chapter 17 The Voice of Society68 Postscript In Lieu of Preface