"Nor is she to be found in the house," said Ryder; "for I've been in every room."
Griffith's face turned livid, and he staggered and leaned against the wall. "Where is she?" said he, hoarsely.
"Humph!" said Ryder, fiendishly. "Find him, and you will find her."
"I'll find them if they are above ground," cried Griffith, furiously; and he rushed into his bedroom and soon came out again, with a fearful purpose written on his ghastly features and in his bloodshot eyes; and a loaded pistol in his hand.
Ryder was terrified; but instead of succumbing to terror, she flew at him like a cat and wreathed her arms round him.
"What would you do?" cried she. "Madman, would you hang for them? and break my heart; the only woman in the world that loves you. Give me the pistol. Nay, I will have it."
And, with that extraordinary power excitement lends her sex, she wrenched it out of his hands.
He gnashed his teeth with fury, and clutched her with a gripe of iron: she screamed with pain: he relaxed his grasp a little at that: she turned on him and defied him.
"I won't let you get into trouble for a priest and a wanton," she cried; "you shall kill me first. Leave mo the pistol, and pledge me your sacred word to do them no harm, and then I'll tell you where they are. Refuse me this, and you shall go to your grave and know nothing more than you know now."
"No, no: if you are a woman have pity on me; let me come at them. There, I'll use no weapon. I'll tear them to atoms with these hands. Where are they?"
"Yes, take it out of my sight; so best. Where are they?"
Ryder locked the pistol up in one of Mrs. Gaunt's boxes. Then she said, in a trembling voice, "Follow me."
She went rather slowly to the door that opened on the lawn; and then she hesitated. "If you are a man, and have any feeling for a poor girl who loves you; if you are a gentleman, and respect your word--no violence."
"Nay, nay. I fear I shall rue the day I told you. Promise me once more: no bloodshed--upon your soul."
He bounded away from her like some beast of prey; and she crouched and trembled on the steps of the door: and, now that she realized what she was doing, a sickening sense of dire misgiving came over her and made her feel quite faint.