"Lord love us, Ralph," said he, "dad's coming to!"
"Yes, you villains!" said I, "I am coming to; you unnatural, undutiful rascals, I have come to!"
They looked upon me, and upon one another, unutterably confounded, and I wondered myself that I did not laugh at them. Their confusion, however, only filled me with rage, and I railed at them with as much emphasis and sincerity as if I had been their father in earnest.
They dropped on their knees; but their rueful appearance only added to my fury. I stormed and I scolded, until, being quite exhausted with the effort, a film came over my eyes, and I fell back in a swoon.