And but that he is so brave and genuine and fine of fibre,
he would never have had the courage to hold up his head again. But even
the basest of the yokels and groundlings could not make merry over the
cozening of so noble a gentleman! And now, because of your faith in his
magnanimity, you summon him forth in an ice-storm at your 'utmost need,'
all careless of his suffering, at the risk of his life. And he, fool
that he is, without even a question, regardless of all that has come
and gone--or, more foolish still, forgiving and forgetting--obeys your
behest! You have taken all he had left, you cruel woman!--his life, this
time, his life, _his life_!"
Gladys literally cowered under this storm of words, as if the pitiless
hail had beaten on her own head. But as Lillian, her arms outstretched,
her voice broken into shrill cries, rushed to the door, Mrs. Briscoe
sprang forward, caught her arm, and sought to detain her. "What are you
going to do, Lillian?"
"To raise the country-side, the county--to search for all that the storm
and the floods and that baneful woman have left of him!"
She broke away hastily from the restraining clutch of Gladys, who,
following her closely, saw her reel backward as if in shrinking affright
from a shadowy figure standing in the dim hall.
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