"Charley!"
"He is, I tell you! You know nothing about him—I do! I tell you he is a villain!"
"This is ungenerous of you, Charley," she calmly said; "it is cowardly. Is not Captain Cavendish your friend?"
"A friend I could throttle with the greatest pleasure in life!" exclaimed Charley, savagely.
"What has he done?"
"More than I would like to tell you—more than you would care to hear! All I have to say is, I would rather shoot you than see you his wife!"
"You are slandering him!" said Nathalie, her passion rising in spite of herself. "You are trying to baffle me; to keep me from talking of Cherrie, but I'll not be put off. You cannot—you cannot mean to marry that girl."
"Natty look here," he said, more gently, "I don't want to be disagreeable, but I cannot be dictated to in this! I am a man, and must choose for myself. I have obeyed you all my life; but in this you must let me be my own master."
"You know what a name she has! She is the talk of all Speckport!"
"Is Speckport ever done talking? Wouldn't it slander an archangel, if it got the chance?"