It did not occur to anyone to ask what sort of a creature Stoffel was. Was he a bachelor? Or did his position as a teacher protect him against any worldly suspicion?
“And, besides,” continued the seductive Laps, “do you think all men have courage? No! They’re as afraid of a thief as they are of death. Last week an insolent beggar was on the steps, and the fellow wouldn’t leave. Do you think the men did anything to him? Scared to death! But, I tell you, I got hold of him in a hurry and——”
She had gone too far, and she saw it.
“Well, I would have done that if I hadn’t been a woman; for a woman must never use violence. It isn’t becoming. What do you say, Trudie? I ran and shut my door. Wasn’t that right? No, none of the men-folk has any courage!”
None of the men-folk! Walter felt insulted. He was swelling with suppressed courage; he was eager for a fray. At least, he was eager to show that he was an exception to Juffrouw Laps’s general indictment. Of course Juffrouw Laps noticed this.
“Well, if Stoffel doesn’t want to——”
“To tell the truth, I——”
“And if Laurens is already asleep—and if—if no one else will——”
She arose.
“Then I suppose I must, relying upon God, go alone. But it’s horrible for a woman to be entirely alone!”