'Michael Slavin, a' promised the lad
a'd bear ye nae ill wull, but juist leave ye tae the Almichty; an' I
want tae tell ye that a'm keepin' ma wur-r-d. But'--and here he raised
his hand, and his voice became preternaturally solemn--'his bluid is
upon yer han's. Do ye no' see it?'
His voice rose sharply, and as he pointed, Slavin instinctively glanced
at his hands, and Geordie added--
'Ay, and the Lord will require it o' you and yer hoose.'
They told me that Slavin shivered as if taken with ague after Geordie
went out, and though he laughed and swore, he did not stop drinking till
he sank into a drunken stupor and had to be carried to bed. His little
French-Canadian wife could not understand the change that had come over
her husband.
'He's like one bear,' she confided to Mrs. Mavor, to whom she was
showing her baby of a year old. 'He's not kees me one tam dis day.
He's mos hawful bad, he's not even look at de baby.' And this seemed
sufficient proof that something was seriously wrong; for she went on to
say--
'He's tink more for dat leel baby dan for de whole worl'; he's tink more
for dat baby dan for me,' but she shrugged her pretty little shoulders
in deprecation of her speech.
Pages:
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192