repulsion. He turned from her with a
look of quiet contempt.

"Why, Zillah, you should go on the stage. These wild paroxysms,
half-pathetic, half-demoniac, tell splendidly with the public: a little
dash of blasphemy now, and you are perfect. The best society would run
wild about you--ladies, most of all, especially if they knew exactly who
and what you were, Zillah."

The woman sprang to her feet, white as death; her eyes closing, her lips
specked with foam. She attempted to speak, but the words writhed
themselves to death on her lips without a sound.

How still intense rage can sometimes appear! The woman stood mute for
more than a moment, in which General Harrington held his breath, awed,
in spite of himself, by a force of passion he had never witnessed
before.

"Zillah," he said at last, half-terrified, "Zillah, control yourself;
this rage will injure you. Come, come, let us talk together more
reasonably. You know how I dislike these wild flights of temper, and how
little good they can effect. Take that hand from your bosom, girl; if
you have a poniard there, let it stay sheathed. I do not fear you, at
any rate."

"You need not," said the woman, in a hoarse whisper. "I could not
strike, even while you were mocking me."

Her hand fell slowly downward as she spoke, leaving the hilt of a dagger
just visible under her dress.

The General stepped toward her, took the dagger from her bosom, and cast
it contemptuously on the fire.

"Have done with this acting, girl, and talk like a sensible woman, if
you have really anything to say."

Zillah smiled scornfully, as he had done, while her eyes followed the
dagger to its lodgment in the fire.

"It is the purpose, not the instrument, which is dangerous," she said,
with pale self-possession, still speaking in hoarse undertones; "and, in
order to reach that, you must clutch here."

Zillah pressed one hand hard on her heart as she spoke, and the old man
could see that concentrated passion shook her from head to foot, still
as she seemed.

"Zillah, this passion will prevent me ever seeing you again. I am no
boy, to be terrified into concessions; as for violence, attempt it, and
I will have you dealt with like any other house-breaker. In the North we
have heavier chains than you have ever worn. You will find that the
slavery which springs from crime, is a reality that you have not yet
known. No more threats, then, if you ever hope to see your master
again."

"I wa