The Freemason's Daughter: A Novel — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

THE FREEMASONS DAUGHTER. 133 *‘ Lizzy! Lizzy!” he exclaimed in a piteous tone, ““ will you leave me ?” The fugitive paused: her little heart beat with fear, for care had been taken to impress upon her mind that the madness of her old friend was of the most dan- gerous kind; and stories related to her of persons having been killed, strangled in the maniac’s iron grasp, who trusting to their apparent calmness, had ventured within their reach. Still she could not resist the agony expressed in the poor clerk’s voice, more, perhaps, than in his words. It was but a beating after all, she thought, even if she should be found out; and her mother, like most mothers, did not hit very hard. Added to which, the door of the cell was strongly barred on the outside, so that there was no personal danger. “If you'll promise to be quiet,” she whispered, << T’ll come back.” “ T will—lI will,” sobbed the inmate of the den, in a tone as submissive as asubdued child’s: “ don’t leave me yet; let me hear the voice of something human, and not the harsh, grating, jeering words of my brutal keeper.” ‘“‘ There,” said Lizzy, who by this time had approached the door, “‘I have come back; but I dare not stay long. Do you know, Mr. Gridley,” she added, “‘ why I came to see you?” 66 No.’ *‘ First, because I promised Tom Bentley and his COniiclooecl SS (SO