old gentleman, lest any disclosure she made might
rouse his spirit and induce him to run away to the workhouse, was thus left free
to be confidential with Mr. Pancks.
    »It's quite true that the business is very steady indeed,« said Mrs.
Plornish, lowering her voice; »and has a excellent connection. The only thing
that stands in its way, sir, is the Credit.«
    This drawback, rather severely felt by most people who engaged in commercial
transactions with the inhabitants of Bleeding Heart Yard, was a large
stumbling-block in Mrs. Plornish's trade. When Mr. Dorrit had established her in
the business, the Bleeding Hearts had shown an amount of emotion and a
determination to support her in it, that did honour to human nature. Recognising
her claim upon their generous feelings as one who had long been a member of
their community, they pledged themselves, with great feeling, to deal with Mrs.
Plornish, come what would, and bestow their patronage on no other establishment
Influenced by these noble sentiments, they had even gone out of their way to
purchase little luxuries in the grocery and butter line to which they were
unaccustomed; saying to one another, that if they did stretch a point, was it
not for a neighbour and a friend, and for whom ought a point to be stretched if
not for such? So stimulated, the business was extremely brisk, and the articles
in stock went off with the greatest celerity. In short, if the Bleeding Hearts
had but paid, the undertaking would have been a complete success; whereas, by
reason of their exclusively confining themselves to owing, the profits actually
realised had not yet begun to appear in the books.
    Mr. Pancks was making a very porcupine of himself by sticking his hair up,
in the contemplation of this state of accounts, when old Mr. Nandy, re-entering
the cottage with an air of mystery, entreated them to come and look at the
strange behaviour of Mr. Baptist, who seemed to have met with something that had
scared him. All three going into the shop, and watching through the window, then
saw Mr. Baptist, pale and agitated, go through the following extraordinary
performances. First, he was observed hiding at the top of the steps leading down
into the Yard, and peeping up and down the street, with his head cautiously
thrust out close to the side of the shop-door. After very anxious scrutiny, he
came out of his retreat, and went briskly down the street as if he were going
away altogether;