I approached the closet, after I had opened the window, for the purpose of obtaining the will and the money I had concealed there. I was on the point of opening the closet, when I heard a step on the stairs, and then my uncle appeared at the door.
"Ernest, if you have any regard for me, or any gratitude for what I have done for you, don't incense him any more," said he, in pleading tones.
"What shall I do?—let him kill me?" I replied.
"What have you done with the horse and chaise?"
"They are in Welch's Lane."
"Don't resist Thomas any more."
"I shall resist him to the death, if he don't let me alone," I answered, firmly. "I didn't begin it."
"Yes, you did, Ernest. You carried the girl off, and he is acting for her mother."
"The girl has been abused. If she hadn't been, she wouldn't have jumped overboard."
"There! Thomas is coming!" exclaimed he, greatly alarmed at the prospect of a renewal of hostilities. "Tell him where the girl is, for my sake, if not for your own."