She gathered, however, from
the few crooked lines scrawled by the servant, that Patty had been very
much startled by the sudden entrance of the landlady's rough lodger,
who had let himself in from the street, just as she was about to follow
her young mistress up to the sitting-room, and had uncivilly stood in
her way on the stairs, while he listened to what the good woman of the
house had to tell him about young Mr. Thorpe's illness. Confused as the
writing was on the slate, Madonna contrived to interpret it thus far,
and would have gone on interpreting more, if she had not felt a heavy
hand laid on her arm, and had not, on looking round, seen Zack's friend
making signs to her, with her money loose in his hand.
She felt confused, but not frightened now; for his eyes, as she looked
into them, expressed neither suspicion nor anger. They rested on her
face kindly and sadly, while he first pointed to the money in his hand,
and then to her. She felt that her color was rising, and that it was a
hard matter to acknowledge the gold and silver as being her own
property; but she did so acknowledge it. He then pointed to himself;
and when she shook her head, pointed through the folding doors into
Zack's room. Her cheeks began to burn, and she grew suddenly afraid to
look at him; but it was no harder trial to confess the truth than
shamelessly to deny it by making a false sign.
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