Page:Augusta Seaman--Jacqueline of the carrier pigeons.djvu/257

Rh those three hundred florins which are due me for my trouble, I will go straightway upstairs  after thou art gone to the city and release  those two children! And I care not what may be the consequences!”

This knock-down argument evidently convinced Dirk that it would be best to parley no longer with the decided Vrouw Hansleer,  but pay her at once. There was a clinking of coins, a counting aloud, several disputes  over the reckoning, and at last the matter  was settled and peace restored.

“Remember,” warned Dirk as they were leaving the room, “to guard those children  well, for they will surely mean more money  to us—” Then the door was shut and the  listeners heard no more.

“What can all this mean!” queried Gysbert. “Didst thou hear him speak of ‘taking those two brats to Spain in a short time’? That means us, of course! What can he possibly mean to do with us there, and how