Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 170: what you’re looking at

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

166 A THRILLING STORY. rest, at odd jobs, to get a little ready money. The cap shipped all his fine furniture off somewhere to be sold, shut up the house yonder, and left for parts unknown, though for the first two years he came every six months to see bow his boy was gettin’ on. After that he didn’t come so often, though he sent money regular. “Ye were the smartest little chap I ever did see. Mar- gery couldn’t have loved: ye any betrer if ve’d heen her own, and she made more on ye than [ relished, and I got jealous sometimes. We got on finely for three years, then hard times came, the crops didn’t turn out good, odd jobs gave out, and I lay idle for weeks at a time. I wasn’t long gettin’ into bad company those times, and I came home wild with drink sometimes, and Margery would cry and beg me to mend my ways. But TI didn’t; and at last she got riled, and threatened to give me the slip, which only made me wicked and sullen. “One night I caine nome worse than ever—Heaven for- give me! I’d been at the bottle all day long, and the very Old Boy had got intome. I staggered into the house ugly enough for anything. Margery had the table all laid, the kettle was steaming in on the stove, and she was settin’ with yerself in her arms—ye were about five then —lanughin’ and playin’ with ye as happy as a cat with one kitten. The sight angered me somehow; [I couldn’t get reconciled that we’d no tots of our own, and I gave yea cuff on the ear with an oath. “Margery sprang up, as mad asa hornet, and shoved ye behind her. ‘*¢ Tet the child alone, you sot!’ she said. “*T*}l sot ye!’ [T yelled, and pushed her roughly into a chair by the stove. “This roused all yer bad blood, small as ve were. Ya flew at me, peltin’ me with ver little fists that couldn’t have hurt a flea. Ye called me ‘a bad, wicked man,’ ordered me to ‘let Margery alone, or ye’d tell——’ “Ye never finished that sentence, for everv word had put mein a worse rage, and I grabbed a stick of wood from the hearth, flung if at ve, and ve dropped without a word, for it hit ye square in the head. “My girl gave a shriek [ll never forget. “Oh, ve drunken wretch!’ she cried. ‘I'll hate ye all my lifeif ve’ve killed my daylin’.’ “She gave me a pnushand sprang toward ye, but she never reached ve, for I grabbed her bv the throat— frightened at what I’d already done, and the heat of the comiclooolkks.€