At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AT A GIRL’S MERCY. 15 turned to stone, then he uttered a careless laugh, with an answering shrug of his shoulders. ‘By the Lord Harry, but you are daring,” he said. ' “Let me advise you, sweet maid, from the height of my superior knowledge, to keep a tighter rein on your speech. The. lips are too pretty to utter such words as these. ’’ | : She flashed her great eyes upon him, afire with indignation and scorn, in spite of the ripple of laugh- ter on her lips. “The height of your knowledge, sir? You should have said the depth; there is only purer knowledge on the heights, and my lips are my own, to speak or be silent,’’ she said, as the key clicked in the lock and she opened her jewel-case. “These are poor gifts, my lord, to one who takes what he will. Itis too bad for your purpose that I have not my best ones here, but I think I sent them away be- | cause I knew or felt there was villainy on foot.’’ He uttered a smothered curse as he closed the hid over the jewels. “T will take it as it is,’’ he said, resuming the novel fire of raillery; ‘‘a gift freely givenis higher than all. Is there anything else of value of which you would dispose? Your watch, for instance, or that locket on your neck that shows through the lace of your robe?”’ A flush crept to the soft cheeks, but she lifted the dainty watch from its case, that she had hoped was hidden from him by the huge toilet bottle in front of it, but when he held out his hand for the locket her eyes blazed as darkly as his. ‘No,’ she cried, sharply, for the first and only time losing command of the half scornful, half laughing tone she had held toward him. ‘“‘No, you — Eomicbooks:.co