he pit was of his own digging; the gloom that gathered
round him was the shadow of his own life.

His wife had closed the door, and thrown herself before it, on the
ground, upon her knees. She held up her hands to him now, and besought
him not to be harsh with her, for she had interposed in fear of
bloodshed.

'So, so!' said Jonas, looking down upon her, as he fetched his breath.
'These are your friends, are they, when I am away? You plot and tamper
with this sort of people, do you?'

'No, indeed! I have no knowledge of these secrets, and no clue to
their meaning. I have never seen him since I left home but once--but
twice--before to-day.'

'Oh!' sneered Jonas, catching at this correction. 'But once, but twice,
eh? Which do you mean? Twice and once, perhaps. Three times! How many
more, you lying jade?'

As he made an angry motion with his hand, she shrunk down hastily. A
suggestive action! Full of a cruel truth!

'How many more times?' he repeated.

'No more. The other morning, and to-day, and once besides.'

He was about to retort upon her, when the clock struck. He started
stopped, and listened; appearing to revert to some engagement, or to
some other subject, a secret within his own breast, recalled to him by
this record of the progress of the hours.

'Don't lie there! Get up!'

Having helped her to rise, or rather hauled her up by the arm, he went
on to say:

'Listen to me, young lady; and don't whine when you have no occasion, or
I may make some for you. If I find him in my house again, or find that
you have seen him in anybody else's house, you'll repent it. If you are
not deaf and dumb to everything that concerns me, unless you have my
leave to hear and speak, you'll repent it. If you don't obey exactly
what I order, you'll repent it. Now, attend. What's the time?'

'It struck eight a minute ago.'

He looked towards her intently; and said, with a laboured distinctness,
as if he had got the words off by heart:

'I have been travelling day and night, and am tired. I have lost some
money, and that don't improve me. Put my supper in the little off-room
below, and have the truckle-bed made. I shall sleep there to-night, and
maybe to-morrow night; and if I can sleep all day to-morrow, so much
the better, for I've got trouble to sleep off, if I can. Keep the house
quiet, and don't call me. Mind! Don't call me. Don't let anybody call
me. Let me lie there.'

She said it should be done. Was that all?