The door not only arrested his progress, but suddenly checked his wrath.
"I'm very sorry, indeed, Professor," said he; "but Gorrifus! it makes
me so mad!"
Messrs. Boolpin and Persimmon laughed heartily. "He's a perfect idiot,
you see," remarked the former. "Coming the nose system at him always
makes him mad."
Tiffles did not understand how that was any proof of idiocy; but, to
prevent the recurrence of any difficulty between his new assistant and
the populace of small boys, he thought it best to take possession of the
hall, and lock the door. He therefore signified to Mr. Boolpin that they
would at once proceed to put up the panorama. Tiffles threw off his
coat, thereby intimating that he would go to work at once.
Messrs. Boolpin and Persimmon inquired, as a matter of form, whether
their further assistance was needed, and were answered in the negative.
Whereupon they retired--Mr. Boolpin uttering a farewell caution against
driving more nails in the wall than were necessary, and not to cut the
floor under any circumstances--and the panorama and its adherents were
left alone.
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