"I own myself
beaten," he said in a firmer tone. "You are free. I let you off since I
must."
Powell, the onlooker, affirms that at these incomprehensible words Mrs.
Anthony stiffened into the very image of astonishment, with a frightened
stare and frozen lips. But next minute a cry came out from her heart,
not very loud but of a quality which made not only Captain Anthony (he
was not looking at her), not only him but also the more distant (and
equally unprepared) young man, catch their breath: "But I don't want to
be let off," she cried.
She was so still that one asked oneself whether the cry had come from
her. The restless shuffle behind Powell's back stopped short, the
intermittent shadowy chuckling ceased too. Young Powell, glancing round,
saw Mr. Smith raise his head with his faded eyes very still, puckered at
the corners, like a man perceiving something coming at him from a great
distance. And Mrs. Anthony's voice reached Powell's ears, entreating and
indignant.
"You can't cast me off like this, Roderick. I won't go away from you. I
won't--"
Powell turned about and discovered then that what Mr.
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