"Hell-cat! She-devil! You would not dare——"
"Yes, I would dare. I will dare anything if you push me too far, but if you hold your tongue I will hold mine," said Madelon, looking at him over her baby's head. She laid her free arm across the child as she spoke, and Leroux saw truth and determination in her eyes.
Jean Jacques began to understand. Eh, but Madelon was clever. A smile came slowly into his broad face, and his hands unclenched. After all, there would be no strangling. It was much better so. Quarrels in families were a mistake. He conceived that the moment had arrived when he might usefully intervene.
"It is a mistake to quarrel," he observed in his deep, slow voice.
Mathieu swung round, glaring, and Madelon closed her eyes for a moment. There was a slight pause, during which Jean Jacques met his father-in-law's furious gaze with placidity.
Then he said again:
"Quarrels in families are a mistake. It is better to live peaceably. Madelon and I are quiet people."
Leroux gave a short, enraged grunt, and looked again at his daughter. As he moved she opened her eyes, and he read in them an unchanged resolve.
"I don't want to quarrel, I 'm sure," he said sulkily.
"We don't," observed Jean Jacques with simplicity.