Words came hoarsely, unbidden from the man's lips, spoken as if from
the bottom of his soul after years of subjection and restraint, so
nearly whispered that they came to David's ears as if from afar off.
"Oh! How lonesome I've been all these years, just for the sound of her
voice!"
His wife's hand went out to him involuntarily. He looked at it for a
second, then into her eyes, waveringly, uncertain as to the impulse
that moved her. He suddenly regained control of himself. He grasped
the slender hand in his great, crushing fingers; the sullen, repellent
glare leaped back into his eyes; alert and shifty, he held up his free
hand to command the silence of David. Then, like a hunted creature at
bay, he glanced over his shoulder. Seeing an open door almost at his
elbow, he resolutely drew his wife after him into the room beyond. As
he turned to slam the door with vicious energy, the tense, incisive
voice called out once more from the head of the stairs:
"Father!"
The door banged as if propelled by the added energy of sudden fear.
An instant later, David was dashing up the stairs, three steps at a
time.
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