He burned with hatred towards Peter, towards the man who had circumvented him. What use was his wealth to him if he must live alone, deprived of the one thing he most wanted to have?
He might have remained there for a long time, struggling with his good and evil natures, but he was disturbed by the sudden entrance of the bear and Jake into his solitude. The beast had a particular affection for the pool in the dell, and preferred it to all others for its daily bath.
But no sooner did it set eyes on Joel, than it began to growl and bristle up with anger.
"Hulloa, Master Joel, back again to the dale," cried Jake.
"Back again," he replied with assumed cheerfulness. "But it seems as though I've found an enemy waiting for me."
The rat-catcher tightened his hand on the chain.
"Big Ben doesn't often show his teeth. Maybe you'd better hook it, master; seems as though he'd got a memory, eh?"
Joel laughed, but took the wiser part of withdrawing before the creature had strung up its ponderous limbs to deal him a blow, which would have ended his temptations for that day and many days to follow.