? ? ? ? 'This is a dreadful calamity, Mr. Copperfield,' said he, as I entered.
? ? ? ? 'What is?' I exclaimed. 'What's the matter?'
? ? ? ? 'Don't you know?' cried Tiffey, and all the rest of them, coming round me.
? ? ? ? 'No!' said I, looking from face to face.
? ? ? ? 'Mr. Spenlow,' said Tiffey.
? ? ? ? 'What about him!'
? ? ? ? 'Dead!' I thought it was the office reeling, and not I, as one of the clerks caught hold of me. They sat me down in a chair, untied my neck-cloth, and brought me some water. I have no idea whether this took any time.
? ? ? ? 'Dead?' said I.
? ? ? ? 'He dined in town yesterday, and drove down in the phaeton by himself,' said Tiffey, 'having sent his own groom home by the coach, as he sometimes did, you know -'
? ? ? ? 'Well?'
? ? ? ? 'The phaeton went home without him. The horses stopped at the stable-gate. The man went out with a lantern. Nobody in the carriage.'
? ? ? ? 'Had they run away?'
? ? ? ? 'They were not hot,' said Tiffey, putting on his glasses; 'no hotter, I understand, than they would have been, going down at the usual pace.
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