"Please, won't you take what you want and go away? Please don't disturb mother, it would nearly kill her.""I'm not going to hurt either you or your mother if you'll be sensible," he said irritably, for, unreasonably enough, the extreme fear she showed and her pleading tones annoyed him.He had a feeling that he would like to shake her, it was so absurd of her to look at him as though she expected him to gobble her up in a mouthful.
She seemed a little reassured.
"Mother will be so dreadfully frightened," she repeated, "I'll give you everything there is in the house if only you'll go at once.""I can take everything I want without your giving it me," he retorted."How do I know you're telling the truth when you say there's no one else in the house? How many servants have you?""None," she answered."There's a woman comes every day, but she doesn't sleep here.""Do you live all alone here with your mother?" he asked, watching her keenly.
"There's my stepfather," she answered."But he's not here tonight.""Oh, is he away?" Dunn asked, his expression almost one of disappointment.
The girl, whose first extreme fear had passed and who was watching him as keenly as he watched her, noticed this manner of disappointment, and could not help wondering what sort of burglar it was who was not pleased to hear that the man of the house was away, and that he had only two women to deal with.
And it appeared to her that he seemed not only disappointed, but rather at a loss what to do next.
As in truth he was, for that the stepfather should be away, and this girl and her mother all alone, was, perhaps, the one possibility that he had never considered.
She noticed, too, that he did not pay any attention to her jewellery, which was lying close to his hand on the toilet-table, and though in point of actual fact this jewellery was not of any great value, it was exceedingly precious in her eyes, and she did not understand a burglar who showed no eagerness to seize on it.
"Did you want to see Mr.Dawson?" she asked, her voice more confident now and even with a questioning note in it.
"Mr.Dawson! Who's he?" Dunn asked, disconcerted by the question, but not wishing to seem so.
"My stepfather, Mr.Deede Dawson," she answered."I think you knew that.If you want him, he went to London early today, but I think it's quite likely he may come back tonight.""What should I want him for?" growled Dunn, more and more, disconcerted, as he saw that he was not playing his part too well.
"I don't know," she answered."I suppose you do.""You suppose a lot," he retorted roughly."Now you listen to me.
I don't want to hurt you, but I don't mean to be interfered with.
I'm going over the house to see what I can find that's worth taking.Understand?""Oh, perfectly," she said.
She was watching him closely, and she noticed that he still made no attempt to take possession of her jewellery, though it lay at his hand, and that puzzled her very much, indeed, for she supposed the very first thing a burglar did was always to seize such treasures as these of hers.But this man paid them no attention whatever, and did not even notice them.
He was feeling in his pockets now and he took out the revolver and the coil of thin rope he had secured from the burglar.
"Now, do you know what I'm going to do?" he asked, with an air of roughness and brutality that was a little overdone.He put the revolver and the rope down on the bed, the revolver quite close to her.
"I'm going," he continued, "to tie you up to one of those chairs.
I can't risk your playing any tricks or giving an alarm, perhaps, while I'm searching the house.I shall take what's worth having, and then I shall clear off, and if your stepfather's coming home tonight you won't have to wait long till he releases you, and if he don't come I can't help it."He turned his back to her as he spoke and took hold of one of the chairs in the room, and then of another and looked at them as though carefully considering which would be the best to use for the carrying out of his threat.
He appeared to find it difficult to decide, for he kept his back turned to her for two or three minutes, during all of which time the revolver lay on the bed quite close to her hand.
He listened intently for he fully expected her to snatch it up, and he wished to be ready to turn before she could actually fire.But, indeed, nothing was further from her thoughts, for she did not know in the least how to use the weapon or even how to fire it off, and the very thought of employing it to kill any one would have terrified her far more even than had done her experiences of this night.
So the pistol lay untouched by her side, while, very pale and trembling a little, she waited what he would do, and on his side he felt as much puzzled by her failure to use the opportunity he had put in her way as she was puzzled by his neglect to seize her jewellery lying ready to his hand.
He was still hesitating, still appearing unable to decide which chair to employ in carrying out his proclaimed purpose of fastening her up when she asked a question that made him swing round upon her very quickly and with a very startled look.
"Are you a real burglar?" she said.
