I'll make her feel the heft--'
He did not have time to finish the sentence, for the tiger in Arthur was
fully roused, and with a bound toward Peterkin he opened the door, and,
in a voice which seemed to fill the room, although it was only a
whisper, he said:
'Clown! loafer! puff-ball! Leave my house instantly, and never enter it
again until you have apologized to Mrs. Crawford and her grandson for
the insult offered them by your vile accusations. If it were not for
soiling my hands, I would throw you down the steps,' he continued, as he
stood holding the door open, and looking with his flashing eyes and
dilated nostrils, as if he were fully equal to anything.
Like most men of the boasting sort, Peterkin was a coward, and though he
probably had twice the strength of Arthur, he went through the door-way
out upon the piazza, where he stopped, and, with a flourish of his fist,
denounced the whole Tracy tribe, declaring them but a race of upstarts,
no better than he was, and saying he would yet be even with them, and
make them feel the heft of his powerful disapprobation. Whatever else he
said was not heard, for Arthur shut the door upon him, and returning to
the library, where his brother stood, pale, trembling, and anxious for
the votes he felt he had lost, he became on the instant as quiet and
gentle as a child, and, consulting his watch, said in his natural tone:
'Quarter of seven, and the train is due at half-past.
Pages:
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115