Bonny Jean, and A Severe Threat — page 221: what you’re looking at

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

a ne. A SEVERE THREAT. ately. “How dare you intrude your presence here? And — as for this lady,” indicating Geraldine as she spoke, ‘‘you are out of your senses to imagine that she will ever consent to go with you, monster that youare! She will never leave this house, save over my dead body !” The baronet laughed sneeringly, and laid his hand upon the poor girl's shoulder. She had been sitting all this time staring straight before her in frozen, wordless despair, her eyes dark and dilated, riveted upon space; her hands, grown cold and clammy, were clasped tightly together; her breath came and went slowly, as though to breathe were an effort. ‘‘Dare to touch me!” she panted, rising slowly to her feet, ‘‘and so help me, Heaven, I will kill you! Sir John Sydney, you ask for proof of the truth of this poor girl's story, and why she accuses you of this frightful crime. Lola, let this man see the trinket which you found by your dead mother’s body when you discovered her in the little cottage, not far from Waltham, gashed, and bleeding, and stone dead. Let him look upon it, Lola; perchance he can identify it. J have seen Sir John Sydney wear it a hundred times.” Slowly Lola Gordon drew forth the emerald sleeve-button, and held it up before the baronet’s gaze. As his glance fell upon it horror dawned in his eyes ; he trembled violently, and a groan escaped his pale lips. He glanced quickly and suspiciously around the room, as though he feared that a police officer might be lurking in its shadow, then, seeing that he had none to contend with save defense- less women, he darted suddenly forward and attempted to wrest it from her grasp. But Lola was not unprepared. She sprang back with a sud- den gesture, and drawing a revolver from her bosom, pointed it straight at his breast. He saw her finger on the trigger, and the look of resolution on her stern, white face, and he drew back involuntarily ; then, with an unexpected movement, he struck the weapon from her grasp. As it fell to the floor he darted EComilebooks:.¢o 3