nd in a moment he was transformed into the old-time
larrikin, accustomed to demand an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
He rushed at her with a cry like an animal, and caught her by the
throat with his powerful hands. But the contact of his fingers with
that delicate flesh that he had never dared to touch before brought him
to his senses. A violent shudder shook him like ague, his fingers
relaxed, and with a sobbing cry, dreadful to hear, he dragged the
fainting woman to her feet and pushed her towards the door, crying "Go,
go, for God's sake!"

She walked unsteadily through the shop with a face the colour of chalk,
hearing and seeing nothing. The red-letter sale was in full swing. A
crowd of customers jostled one another as they passed in and out; the
coins clinked merrily in the till. Miss Giltinan caught sight of her
face, and wondered. Half an hour later, growing suspicious, she ran
upstairs, and knocked at the door on a pretext of business. Hearing
nothing, she opened the door, with her heart in her mouth, and looked
in. Jonah was crouching motionless on the end of the sofa, his head
buried among the cushions, like a stricken animal. Puzzled, but
reassured, she closed the door gently and went downstairs.

* * * * *

Jonah never saw Clara again. He spent a week in the depths, groping
blindly, hating life for its deceptions. Then, one day, his passion of
hatred and loathing for Clara left him suddenly, as a garrison
surrenders without a blow. He took a cab to her house, and knocked at
the door. A curtain moved, but the door remained unopened. A month
later he learned that she had married her old love, the clerk in the
Lands Department, transferred by request to Wagga, beyond the reach of
Dad and his reputation. The following year Jonah married Miss
Giltinan, chiefly on account of Ray, who was growing unmanageable; and
on Monday morning it was one of the sights of Regent Street to see the
second Mrs Jones step into her sulky to drive round and inspect the
suburban branches of the "Silver Shoe" which Jonah had opened under her
direction.

Chook and Pinkey did not need to stare at sixpence before spending it,
but their fortune was long in the making. Meanwhile Chook consoled
himself with the presence of a sturdy son, the image of Pinkey, with a
mop of curls the colour of a new penny.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jonah, by Louis Stone

*** EN