' And he bowed
towards her, and fixed his clear eyes contemptuously on her face.
'I could wish to slay thee too,' she answered; 'for thou dost
make a mock of me;' and then feeling that she was mastered, and
I suppose not knowing what else to do, she burst into such a
storm of tears and looked so royally lovely in her passionate
distress, that, old as I am, I must say I envied Curtis his task
of supporting her. It was rather odd to see him holding her
in his arms considering what had just passed -- a thought that
seemed to occur to herself, for presently she wrenched herself
free and went, leaving us all much disturbed.
Presently, however, one of the guards returned with a message
to the girls that they were, on pain of death, to leave the city
and return to their homes in the country, and that no further
harm would come to them; and accordingly they went, one of them
remarking philosophically that it could not be helped, and that
it was a satisfaction to know that they had taught us a little
serviceable Zu-Vendi. Mine was an exceedingly nice girl, and,
overlooking the cockroach, I made her a present of my favourite
lucky sixpence with a hole in it when she went away. After that
our former masters resumed their course of instruction, needless
to say to my great relief.
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