Old Hurricane was lying awake, tossing, groaning and grumbling with
anxiety.
On seeing Wool enter he deliberately raised up and seized a heavy iron
candlestick and held it ready to hurl at the head of that worthy, whom
he thus addressed: "Ah, you have come, you atrocious villain! You know the conditions. If
you have dared to show your face without bringing your young
mistress----"
"Please, marse, I wur out looking for her all night."
"Have you brought her?" thundered Old Hurricane, rising up.
"Please, marse, yes, sir; I done found her and brought her home safe."
"Send her up to me," said Old Hurricane, sinking back with a sigh of
infinite relief.
Wool flew to do his bidding.
In five minutes Capitola entered her uncle's chamber.
Now, Old Hurricane had spent a night of almost intolerable anxiety upon
his favorite's account, bewailing her danger and praying for her
safety; but no sooner did he see her enter his chamber safe and sound
and smiling than indignation quite mastered him, and jumping out of his
bed in his nightgown, he made a dash straight at Capitola.
Now, had Capitola run there is little doubt but that, in the blindness
of his fury, he would have caught and beat her then and there. But Cap
saw him coming, drew up her tiny form, folded her arms and looked him
directly in the face.
This stopped him; but, like a mettlesome old horse suddenly pulled up
in full career, he stamped and reared and plunged with fury, and foamed
and spluttered and stuttered before he could get words out.
"What do you mean, you vixen, by standing there and popping your great
eyes out at me? Are you going to bite, you tigress? What do you mean by
facing me at all?" he roared, shaking his fist within an inch of
Capitola's little pug nose.
"I am here because you sent for me, sir," was Cap's unanswerable
rejoinder.
"Here because I sent for you! humph! humph! humph! and come dancing and
smiling into my room as if you had not kept me awake all the live-long
night--yes, driven me within an inch of brain fever! Not that I cared
for you, you limb of Old Nick! not that I cared for you, except to wish
with all my heart and soul that something or other had happened to you,
you vagrant! Where did you spend the night, you lunatic?"
"At the old Hidden House, where I went to make a call on my new
neighbor, Miss Day, and where I was caught in the storm."