Page:Augusta Seaman--Jacqueline of the carrier pigeons.djvu/203

Rh likely to remain till fortune again turned in my favor! For three successive days Dirk came up and gave me a beating, till I  foresaw that this was to become a daily practice. Otherwise I had food enough shoved in the door at me,—more than I had in Leyden!—and nothing on earth to do. At length I became thoroughly weary of the  beating performance, and hit upon a scheme  to avoid it. And what dost thou think that was, Jacqueline?”

“I cannot guess!” she answered.

“Why, I pretended I had the plague!” he cried gleefully. “Oh, Jacqueline, thou canst not guess what a desperate coward that  Dirk Willumhoog is! One day when I heard him coming, I held my breath till I was scarlet in the face, like fever. I lay covered up in bed, and when he entered, I began to toss my arms about and rave, as  though light in the head. He did not beat me that time, but stared at me uneasily for a  while, and went out muttering. He did not