Now he has gone, and
you have to pay, and your case has gone against you in the Appellate
Court besides. . . . I will tell you the truth, my friend, even if it
cuts me to the heart. You have not kept your judgment in hand; you have
gone ahead like a bull at a gate; and you pay the price. You listen to
those who flatter, and on those who would go through fire and water for
you, you turn your back--on those who would help you in your hour of
trouble, in your dark day."
Jean Jacques drew himself up with a gesture, impatient, masterful and
forbidding. "I have fought my fight alone in the dark day; I have not
asked for any one's help," he answered. "I have wept on no man's
shoulder. I have been mauled by the claws of injury and shame, and I
have not flinched. I have healed my own wounds, and I wear my scars
without--"
He stopped, for there came a sharp rat-tat-tat at the door which opened
into the street. Somehow the commonplace, trivial interruption produced
on both a strange, even startling effect. It suddenly produced in their
minds a feeling of apprehension, as though there was whispered in their
ears, "Something is going to happen--beware!"
Rat-tat-tat! The two men looked at each other.
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