"y' shell not kiss m' gel, or merry her, or hev anything t' do with m' gel," said captain huxham, in a thick voice. "oh, i saw y' fro' th' quarter-deck with m' gel. jus' y' git, or——"
he made a threatening step forward, while cyril waited him without flinching. what would have happened it is hard to say, for captain huxham was in a frenzy of rage. but bella, recovering from her first surprise, threw herself between the two men.
"father," she cried passionately, "i love him."
"oh, y' do, do y'?" growled the fireside tyrant, turning fiercely on her, "an' arter i told y' es y'd hev t' leave the swab alone. did i, or did i not?"
"yes, but you assigned no reason for asking me to avoid cyril, so——"
"cyril! cyril!" the captain clenched his huge hand, and his little eyes flashed with desperate anger. "y' call him cyril, y'—y'—slut." he raised a mighty fist to strike her, and the blow would have fallen, but that lister suddenly gripped huxham's shoulder and twitched him unexpectedly aside.
"if you blame anyone, sir, you must blame me."
"i'll break yer neck, cuss y'," raged the older man.
cyril shrugged his shoulders, indifferently. "you can try, if you like, but i don't propose to let you do it. come, captain huxham, let us both be reasonable and talk matters over."
"y're on m' land; git off m' land," shouted huxham, swinging his fists like windmills.
"go, cyril, go," implored bella who was terrified lest there should be a hand-to-hand struggle between the two men. that was not to be thought of, as if lister killed the captain, or the captain killed lister, there would be no chance of her becoming the wife of the man she loved.
"i am quite ready to go," said cyril, keeping a watchful eye on huxham; "but first i should like to hear why you, sir, object to my marrying bella." he spoke quietly and firmly, so that the level tones of his voice, and the admirable way in which he kept his temper, had a cooling effect on the enraged sailor.
huxham, born bully as he was, found that it was difficult for him to storm at a man so cool, and calm, and self-controlled. "y' ain't m' chice," said he in lower but very sulky tones; "m' gel's goin' t' merry th' sky-pilot, silas pence."
"oh, no, she's not," said lister smoothly; "she will marry me."
"if she does, she don't get no money o' mine."
"that will be no hindrance," said bella, who was rapidly regaining her colour. "i am willing to marry cyril without a penny."
"y' shent, then," grumbled her father savagely.
"i have yet to hear your objections, sir."
"yer name's lister, and——"
the objection was so petty, that bella quite expected to see cyril laugh. but in place of doing so, he turned white and retreated a step. "what—what do you know of my name?" he asked, with apparent nervousness.
"thet's my business," snapped huxham, seeing his advantage, "an' i shen't tell y' m' business. y' git off m' land, or——" he suddenly lunged forward in the attempt to throw lister when off his guard.
but the young man was watchful, and, unexpectedly swerving, dexterously tripped up his bulky antagonist. huxham, with a shout, or rather a bellow of rage like a wounded bull, sprawled full length amongst the corn. bella pushed her lover away before the captain could regain his feet. "go, go, i can see you to-morrow," she said hastily.
"y' shell never see the swab again," roared huxham, rising slowly, for the fall had shaken him, and he was no longer young. "i'll shut y' in yer room, an' feed y' on bread an' water."
"if you dare to say that again, i'll break your head," cried lister, suddenly losing his temper at the insult to the girl he loved.
"oh, will y'?" huxham passed his tongue over his coarse lips and rubbed his big hands slowly. apparently nothing would have given him greater pleasure than to pitch this man who dared him into the boundary channel; but he had learned a lesson from his late fall. lister was active and young; the captain was elderly and slow. therefore, in spite of his superior strength—and huxham judged that he had that—it was risky to try conclusions of sheer brute force. the captain therefore, being a coward at heart, as all bullies are, weakened and retreated. "y' git off m' land," was all that he could find to say, "an' y' git home, bella. es m' daughter i'll deal with y'."
"i am quite ready to go home," said bella boldly; "but you are not going to behave as though i were one of your sailors, father."
"i'll do wot i please," growled huxham, looking white and wicked.
bella laughed somewhat artificially, for her father did not look amiable. "i don't think you will," she said, with feigned carelessness. "cyril, go now, and i'll see you again to-morrow."
"ef y' come here again," shouted huxham, boiling over once more, "i'll kill y'—thet i will."
"take care you aren't killed yourself first," retorted lister, and was surprised at the effect the threat—an idle one—had on the ex-sailor.
huxham turned pale under his bronze, and hastily cast a look over his left shoulder.
"why do you hate me so?" asked the young man sharply. "i never met you before; you have never set eyes on me. why do you hate me?"
"ef i'd a dog called lister, i'd shoot it; if i'd a cat called lister, i'd drown it; and if i'd a parrot named lister, i'd twist its blamed neck, same es i would yours, ef i could. bella, come home;" and casting a venomous look on the astonished cyril, the captain moved away.
it was useless to prolong the unpleasant scene, since huxham declined to explain his objection to the young man's name. and again, as she took a few steps to accompany her father, bella noticed that cyril winced and paled at the coarse taunts of his antagonist. "what is the matter with your name?" she asked sharply.
lister strode forward and caught her in his arms. "i shall explain when next we meet," he whispered, and kissed her good-bye, while huxham grated his strong white teeth at the sight. indeed, so angry was the captain, that he might again have assaulted his daughter's lover, but cyril walked rapidly away, and without even a backward glance. bella watched him with a heavy heart: there seemed to be something sinister about this mystery of the name. huxham's inexplicable hatred appeared to be foolish; but lister undoubtedly took it seriously.
"kim home," breathed the captain furiously in her ear; "you an' me hes t' hev a talk."
"it will be a last talk if you do not behave properly," retorted bella, walking proudly by his side, "even though i have the misfortune to be your daughter, that does not give you the right to treat me so rudely."
"i'll treat y' es i blamed well like, y' hussy. y'll go t' yer room, an' eat bread an' drink water t' cool yer hot blood."
bella laughed derisively. "there is law in this country, father," she said quietly. "i shall go to my room certainly, as i have no wish to remain with you. but there need be no talk of bread and water."
"tea an' dry toast, then," grunted huxham, looking at her savagely with his hard blue eyes. "y' shell be punished, y' slut."
"because i have fallen in love? nonsense."
"because y've disobeyed me in seein' this blamed lister."
"father"—bella stopped directly before the front door of the manor-house—"why do you hate cyril? what have you against his name?"
the captain quivered, blinked his eyes, cast his usual look over the left shoulder, and then scowled. "shut yer mouth," he growled, "an' go t' yer room, cuss y'. this house is mine. i am master here." he rolled into the doorway and suddenly turned on the threshold. "i'd ruther see y' dead an' buried than merried t' a man of t' name of lister," he snarled; and before bella could recover from her astonishment, he plunged into his den and shut the door with a noisy bang.
the girl passed her hand across her forehead in a bewildered way. the mystery was becoming deeper, and she saw no way of solving it. huxham would not explain, and cyril evaded the subject. then bella remembered that her lover had promised an explanation when next they met. a remembrance of this aided her to possess herself in patience, and she tried to put the matter out of her head. but it was impossible for her to meet her father at supper and forbear asking questions, so she decided to obey him ostensibly, and retire to her bedroom. the next day she could have an interview with her lover, and then would learn why the captain stormed and cyril winced when the name was mentioned.
bella's room was on the first floor, and in the front of the mansion, so that she had an extended view of the corn-fields, of mrs. tunks' hut near the boundary channel, and of the pathway through the wheat leading deviously from the front door of bleacres, across the channel, and to the distant village of marshely. standing at the window, she could see the red-roofed houses gathered round the square tower of the church, and the uncultivated fields, green and moist, spreading on all sides. the sun was setting, and the landscape was bathed in rosy hues. everything was peaceful and restful outside, but under the manor roof was discord and dread. huxham in his den paced up and down like a caged bear, angered exceedingly by his daughter's obstinacy, as he termed it. and bella, in the seclusion of her own room, was trying to quieten her fears. hitherto, she had lived what she termed a vegetable life; but in these ominous hints it seemed as though she would very shortly have more than enough to occupy her mind.
as the twilight darkened, bella still continued to sit at the window vainly endeavouring to forecast a doubtful future. it was certain that huxham would never agree to her marriage with lister, and would probably insist that she should become the wife of pence. as bella had no money, and no expectations of any, save by obeying her father, she did not know what to do unless the captain ceased to persecute her. he would possibly turn her out of doors if she persisted in thwarting his will. in that event she would either have to earn her bread as a governess, or would be forced to ask lister to marry her—a direct question which her maidenly pride shrank from putting. moreover—as she recollected—cyril had plainly told her, only a few hours previously, that he could not marry her unless he obtained one thousand pounds within the week. it was now tuesday, and it was not easy to raise such a large sum within the next few days. of course, bella did not know what resources cyril had to draw upon, and it might be that he would gain what he wanted. then he could take her away and marry her: but until the unexpected happened, she did not know what to say or how to act. it seemed to her that she had come to the cross-roads of life, and that all her future depended upon the path she now chose. yet there was nothing to show her how to select the direction.
