Do quickly what I tell you."
The priest gave his orders to Mr. Gerzson with imperious brevity, but
that gentleman, even in his present situation, could not divest himself
of his homely humour, and as he was donning the parson's long cassock
and pressed the broad brimmed clerical hat down upon his head, he fell a
laughing at the odd figure he cut.
"Deuce take it!" he cried, "I never imagined that I should ever be
turned into a parson."
But the priest was angry at the untimely jest and turning savagely upon
Squire Gerzson, said: "Sir, this is no time for jesting, we are both of
us standing on the very threshold of death."
Gerzson was no coward, nor did he trouble himself very much about death,
but the emphatic tone of the parson at least induced him, at last, to
take the matter seriously.
"Then according to that you also are in danger on my account?"
"Ask no questions! I knew what would happen when I gave you a night's
lodging."
Then he took out of a drawer a packet of letters and bade Gerzson put
them in the pocket of his cassock as the coat he was wearing had no
pockets.
"Why do you take these with you?"
"Because I fear to leave them here, and also because I believe I shall
never return to this house any more. I have one request to make of you
and that is that you will read these letters and keep the contents to
yourself." Gerzson promised to do so.
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