here; but not her. When you want to get revenge on a woman you don t
kill her bosh! you go for her looks. You slit her nostrils you notch her
ears like a sow!
By God, that s
Keep your opinion to yourself! It will be safest for you. I ll tie her
to the bed. If she bleeds to death, is that my fault? I ll not cry, if
she does. My friend, you ll help me in this thing for _my_ sake that s
why you re here I mightn t be able alone. If you flinch, I ll kill you.
Do you understand that? And if I have to kill you, I ll kill her and
then I reckon nobody ll ever know much about who done this business.
Well, if it s got to be done, let s get at it. The quicker the
better I m all in a shiver.
Do it _now_? And company there? Look here I ll get suspicious of you,
first thing you know. No we ll wait till the lights are out there s no
hurry.
Huck felt that a silence was going to ensue a thing still more awful
than any amount of murderous talk; so he held his breath and stepped
gingerly back; planted his foot carefully and firmly, after balancing,
one-legged, in a precarious way and almost toppling over, first on one
side and then on the other. He took another step back, with the same
elaboration and the same risks; then another and another, and a twig
snapped under his foot! His breath stopped and he listened. There was no
sound the stillness was perfect. His gratitude was measureless. Now he
turned in his tracks, between the walls of sumach bushes turned
himself as carefully as if he were a ship and then stepped quickly but
cautiously along. When he emerged at the quarry he felt secure, and
so he picked up his nimble heels and flew. Down, down he sped, till he
reached the Welshman s. He banged at the door, and presently the heads
of the old man and his two stalwart sons were thrust from windows.
What s the row there? Who s banging? What do you want?
Let me in quick! I ll tell everything.
Why, who are you?
183