Dan kept his post, feeling the pressure of his wife’s arms and the terror of her appealing face.
“Put the gun down, father,” he said.
Isaac hesitated. Bess cast a rapid glance at him over her shoulder.
“I’ll not tell,” she said. “I’ll not tell.”
Dan still held her fast and kept his eyes fixed on his father’s face.
“Put the gun down,” he said, with a hoarse oath.
Isaac lowered the muzzle and came a step nearer to his son.
“Ye great fool,” he said, “will ye trust to a woman’s word!”
“I’ll not have ye shoot my wife like a dog,” quoth the younger man, fierce with the pride of ownership.
Isaac uncocked the gun and threw it from him with a curse.