''Take me back,'' I say. I say it, thinking: Don''t let them see you are afraid! But my voice has risen higher and I cannot make it firm. ''Take me back, at once, to the streets and hackneys.''
He shakes his head, looks away. ''I can''t do it.''
''Take me now. Or I go, alone. I shall make my way—I saw the route! I studied it, hard!—and I shall find out a—a policeman!''
The boy, the pale man, the woman and girl, all flinch or wince. The dog barks.
''Now now,'' says the man, stroking his moustache. ''You must be careful how you talk, dear, in a house like this.''
''It is you who must be careful!'' I say. I look from one face to another. ''What is it you think you shall have from this? Money? Oh, no. It is you who must be careful. It is all of you! And you, Richard—you—who must be most careful of all, should I once find a policeman and begin to talk.''
But Richard looks and says nothing. ''Do you hear me?'' I cry.
The man winces again, and puts his finger to his ear as if to clear it of wax. ''Like a blade,'' he says, to no-one, to everyone. ''Ain''t it?''▂思▂兔▂網▂
''Damn you!'' I say. I look wildly about me for a moment, then make a sudden grab at my bag. Richard reaches it first, however, he hooks it with his long leg and kicks it across the floor, almost playfully. The boy takes it up, and holds it in his lap. He produces a knife and begins to pick at the lock. The blade flashes.