Beautiful Rienzi; or, The secret vendetta — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

78 BEAUTIFUL RIENZL. better send that cab home, when it comes here again. You lear? ‘‘Madam,” said the man, who was in truth very much alarmed, ‘‘it’s not my blame—I have got nothing to do but obey—and I hope nobody’ll take the trouble to get me into ascrape.” «* You need hope nothing of the kind,” I returned, ‘‘un- less von make yourself of service to us. See that no inmate of this house is removed without our knowledge, within the next hour.” The man promised with a profusion of assurances that he would do his best to warn us, and hearing steps, I slipped back tomy father. I had just succeeded in whispering a few words to him, when the heavy tread approached us and alarge, pompous individual entered, with a benignly bald head, a gold-rimmed double eye-glass astride his nose, and a half frightened expression on his broad, fleshy face. The instant, however, that his eyes lit on his visitors, the ex- pression changed to severe grandeurand he seated himself with a portentous clearing of his throat. ‘‘Doctor Oaks—at your service,” he said, sonorously, while the stout chair creaked beneath his. culminating weight; “‘there is some mistake here, I fancy—I was given to understand that a person—that a person, sir, who was entitled to gain admission, waited to seeme. Who may you be, sir?” ‘*A person who has been sent here,” said my father, look- ing at me, ‘‘ to inquire Into some circumstances connected with this house.” ‘“‘ Indeed—indeed!” repeated the doctor, tapping with his large fingers on the arm of his chair, and evidently puzzling himself as to the speaker’s probable authority. “To tell the truth,” continued my father, in the same quiet tone, ‘‘a young lady who has for some time been missing from her friends has been traced to this establish- ment. I have no desire to bring this establishment at present under the surveillance of the law; but I would ad- vise you, sir, to attend to this lady’s request.” He looked at me in the same manner as before, and I turned boldly to the huge superintendent, whose rubicund face was now slightly streaked with fear or anger. _ The patient whom I saw walking in the court this af- ternoon is my sister who was abducted four months ago,” CORNUCG OOO S (©)