Hal looked up quickly and then turned away as though the sight had stung him, while Gilbot, thinking that it was a signal for general joyfulness, began to sing again:
“Pretty Poll, she loved a sailor,
And well she loved he—— ”
“Peace, damn you, peace,” roared Dick, suddenly gripping Anny’s arm so hard that she cried out.
Gilbot sat spellbound. Never had any one so spoken to him in his life before, and he was about to reply, but one look at the furious face of the little Spaniard calmed him and he subsided, muttering:
“No offensh, no offensh.”
This outburst had surprised Anny quite as much as Gilbot, and she looked at Dick with new fear. If only Nan would come, she thought, if only Nan would come!
At this moment the door opened and she turned eagerly, her eyes alight with hope, but it was Sue who came in softly and sat down quietly by the fireside opposite her uncle.
Dick turned his head without letting Anny go, and called for more rum.
Hal brought it, without looking at either of them, and set it on the table.
The Spaniard drained it at a gulp.