 Pip! Our friend the Spider,« said Mr. Jaggers, »has played his cards.
He has won the pool.«
    It was as much as I could do to assent.
    »Hah! He is a promising fellow - in his way - but he may not have it all his
own way. The stronger will win in the end, but the stronger has to be found out
first. If he should turn to, and beat her -«
    »Surely,« I interrupted, with a burning face and heart, »you do not
seriously think that he is scoundrel enough for that, Mr. Jaggers?«
    »I didn't say so, Pip. I am putting a case. If he should turn to and beat
her, he may possibly get the strength on his side; if it should be a question of
intellect, he certainly will not. It would be chance work to give an opinion how
a fellow of that sort will turn out in such circumstances, because it's a
toss-up between two results.«
    »May I ask what they are?«
    »A fellow like our friend the Spider,« answered Mr. Jaggers, »either beats
or cringes. He may cringe and growl, or cringe and not growl; but he either
beats or cringes. Ask Wemmick his opinion.«
    »Either beats or cringes,« said Wemmick, not at all addressing himself to
me.
    »So, here's to Mrs. Bentley Drummle,« said Mr. Jaggers, taking a decanter of
choicer wine from his dumb-waiter, and filling for each of us and for himself,
»and may the question of supremacy be settled to the lady's satisfaction! To the
satisfaction of the lady and the gentleman, it never will be. Now, Molly, Molly,
Molly, Molly, how slow you are to-day!«
    She was at his elbow when he addressed her, putting a dish upon the table.
As she withdrew her hands from it, she fell back a step or two, nervously
muttering some excuse. And a certain action of her fingers as she spoke arrested
my attention.
    »What's the matter?« said Mr. Jaggers.
    »Nothing. Only the subject we were speaking of,« said I, »was rather painful
to me.«
    The action of her fingers was like the action of knitting. She stood looking
at her master, not understanding whether she was free to go, or whether he had
more to say to her and would call her back
