Page:George Gibbs--Love of Monsieur.djvu/271

 and with a grim deliberation, raised his pistol into a line.

Barbara’s wild cry rang from one end of the deck to the other. Regardless of her own danger and scarce responsible, she was flying across the intervening space towards Yan Gratz. The startled Dutchman, disconcerted for a moment by this unfamiliar sound, turned, his mouth agape, his pistol pointing purposeless at the empty air. “Stop!” she cried, supremely imperious, yet affrighted at the sound of her own voice. “''Stop! You must not! I command you!''”

Yan Gratz paused, uncertain for a moment. He looked at this gentle adversary as though he did not know whether to scowl or laugh. Then his lumpy face broke into a smile and his lifted brows puckered his forehead into innumerable wrinkles. The pistol dropped to his side.

“Aw—yaw—you commandt me?”—he began wagging his head—“but who in de name o’ Cott vhas you?”

Then for the first time his eye fell upon the 259