For a moment the Professor’s face became convulsed, he struggled desperately, then fell prone upon the floor. Donald and Solomon Garrett assisted him to his feet, and for a few moments he stood staring and glaring about him.
“What are you doing here, sir, when I forbade you the house?� cried Mark. “Get out of here at once, and never let me see your face in this part of the country again, if you value your miserable life!�
The man glared at Mark in impotent rage.
“Come, go! I know all your iniquity and I swear I’ll have a mob after you before another night if you’re in this vicinity!�
Mark spoke with angry vehemence.
“I go, but your wife will follow me,� Russell said, turning and fixing his eyes upon Alice Cramer. Mark saw her totter forward, and catching her in one arm he drew a revolver from his belt and levelled it at the Professor’s head.
“Will you go?� he hissed.
Professor Russell did not stop long to question the muzzle of a revolver, and sprang out into the night. The neighbors, too, frightened by Mark’s savagery, made short adieux and went home.
Alice was nearly unconscious from her fright, and Mark bore her to a couch.
“I should like to have kicked that hound into the middle of next week!� he muttered. “Heaven knows what he has done to my poor Alice.�