Page 671 - for-the-term-of-his-natural-life

With this intent he returned to the prison, and gravely in-
formed poor Troke that he was astonished at his barbarity.
‘Mrs. Frere, who most luckily had appointed to meet me this
evening at the prison, tells me that the poor devil Dawes
had been on the stretcher since seven o’clock this morning.’
‘You ordered it fust thing, yer honour,’ said Troke.
‘Yes, you fool, but I didn’t order you to keep the man
there for nine hours, did I? Why, you scoundrel, you might
have killed him!’ Troke scratched his head in bewilderment.
‘Take his irons off, and put him in a separate cell in the old
gaol. If a man is a murderer, that is no reason you should
take the law into your own hands, is it? You’d better take
care, Mr. Troke.’ On the way back he met the chaplain, who,
seeing him, made for a by-path in curious haste. ‘Halloo!’
roared Frere. ‘Hi! Mr. North!’ Mr. North paused, and the
Commandant made at him abruptly. ‘Look here, sir, I was
rude to you just now—devilish rude. Most ungentlemanly
of me. I must apologize.’ North bowed, without speaking,
and tried to pass.
‘You must excuse my violence,’ Frere went on. ‘I’m bad-
tempered, and I didn’t like my wife interfering. Women,
don’t you know, don’t see these things— don’t understand
these scoundrels.’ North again bowed. ‘Why, d—n it, how
savage you look! Quite ghastly, bigod! I must have said most
outrageous things. Forget and forgive, you know. Come
home and have some dinner.’
‘I cannot enter your house again, sir,’ said North, in tones
more agitated than the occasion would seem to warrant.
Frere shrugged his great shoulders with a clumsy affec-

0 For the Term of His Natural Life