A Short Chapter; But Which Contains Sufficient Matter to Affect the Good-Natured Reader
- Throughout lunch, Squire Allworthy keeps giving Tom angry looks.
- Tom realizes that Squire Western must have come to spill the beans that morning.
- As soon as lunch is over, Squire Allworthy yells at Tom about Mr. Blifil's accusations of drunken fighting.
- Tom is so heartbroken that he can't defend himself.
- What's more, Tom was drunk and he did fight with Mr. Blifil.
- The original causes of that fight—Tom's anger at Mr. Blifil for mocking his birth and for springing Bridget's death on Squire Allworthy against his doctor's orders—seem so distant that Tom doesn't want to bring them up.
- Squire Allworthy tells Tom to pack his bags: he's through.
- Squire Allworthy isn't going to support a vicious louse like Tom any longer.
- He'll give Tom some money, but he never wants to see the boy again.
- Tom bursts into tears and leaves the room after kissing Squire Allworthy's hand.