CHAPTER XXVII 382
I shook my head : it required a degree of courage , excited as he was becoming , even to risk that mute sign of dissent . He had been walking fast about the room , and he stopped , as if suddenly rooted to one spot . He looked at me long and hard : I turned my eyes from him , fixed them on the fire , and tried to assume and maintain a quiet , collected aspect .
" Now for the hitch in Jane ' s character ," he said at last , speaking more calmly than from his look I had expected him to speak . " The reel of silk has run smoothly enough so far ; but I always knew there would come a knot and a puzzle : here it is . Now for vexation , and exasperation , and endless trouble ! By God ! I long to exert a fraction of Samson ' s strength , and break the entanglement like tow !"
He recommenced his walk , but soon again stopped , and this time just before me .
" Jane ! will you hear reason ?" ( he stooped and approached his lips to my ear ); " because , if you won ' t , I ' ll try violence ." His voice was hoarse ; his look that of a man who is just about to burst an insufferable bond and plunge headlong into wild license . I saw that in another moment , and with one impetus of frenzy more , I should be able to do nothing with him . The present -- the passing second of time -- was all I had in which to control and restrain him -- a movement of repulsion , flight , fear would have sealed my doom , -- and his . But I was not afraid : not in the least . I felt an inward power ; a sense of influence , which supported me . The crisis was perilous ; but not without its charm : such as the Indian , perhaps , feels when he slips over the rapid in his canoe . I took hold of his clenched hand , loosened the contorted fingers , and said to him , soothingly -
" Sit down ; I ' ll talk to you as long as you like , and hear all you have to say , whether reasonable or unreasonable ."
He sat down : but he did not get leave to speak directly . I had been struggling with tears for some time : I had taken great pains to repress them , because I knew he would not like to see me weep . Now , however , I considered it well to let them flow as freely and as long as they liked . If the