"You asked for it, and you have got it," he said. "Stand out of the way, will you?" and careless whether the other took that measure for self-preservation or not, rode on.
Deleah, unable to see distinctly what occurred, was relieved to find the interview so short, and Sir Francis so quickly beside her again. She had got up from the bank, and was walking briskly homeward when he overtook her.
"I hope you—were not unkind to him," she said timidly. "Mr. Gibbon lived in our house once—"
"Was that Mr. Gibbon? That man with the mad eyes?"
"He was our boarder. He was always very kind."
"To you especially kind?"
"To us all."
"And am I to hear why, as he is so kind, you were running away from him, this evening?"
"I had rather not tell."
He was a man of so much reserve himself that he respected hers. "Very well," he said; and after a minute added, "I am quite sure you were not to blame."