I have never seen him since I left home but once--but
twice--before to-day.'
'Oh!' sneered Jonas, catching at this correction. 'But once, but twice,
eh? Which do you mean? Twice and once, perhaps. Three times! How many
more, you lying jade?'
As he made an angry motion with his hand, she shrunk down hastily. A
suggestive action! Full of a cruel truth!
'How many more times?' he repeated.
'No more. The other morning, and to-day, and once besides.'
He was about to retort upon her, when the clock struck. He started
stopped, and listened; appearing to revert to some engagement, or to
some other subject, a secret within his own breast, recalled to him by
this record of the progress of the hours.
'Don't lie there! Get up!'
Having helped her to rise, or rather hauled her up by the arm, he went
on to say:
'Listen to me, young lady; and don't whine when you have no occasion, or
I may make some for you. If I find him in my house again, or find that
you have seen him in anybody else's house, you'll repent it. If you are
not deaf and dumb to everything that concerns me, unless you have my
leave to hear and speak, you'll repent it.
Pages:
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338