My resistance seemed to half madden him as I still held on. "Let go, you dog!" he roared, "let go!" but I held on the more tightly; when, beside himself with rage, as a loud knocking came now at the inner door, he caught up a heavy office ruler from the table and struck me so cruel a blow across the head that I staggered backwards, and should have fallen to the floor if the door had not been dashed in and Mary caught me up. CHAPTER SIX. UNDER MARY'S MASK. "You great coward!" she cried in a rage, as, sick, faint, and heavy, and seeing everything now as in a dream, I was lifted in her stout arms. "Leave this room, woman!" I heard him say. "Yes, and your house too, you wretch?" she retorted; and then I heard no more till I seemed to wake in a heavy, dull, throbbing fashion in the kitchen, where some one seemed to be wetting my head with water smelling very strongly of pickles. The place looked as if it was early morning, and the walls, with the dresser, plates, and tureens, and the bright tin dish-covers, seemed to be going round and round, but not regularly, for it was as if they went up and down in a wavy billowy way, and all the time I seemed to feel terribly sick. "Oh, if I was a man!" I heard Mary mutter; and then more softly, "There, don't you cry, Miss Hetty; he ain't killed. It's left off bleeding now. You go to your mar's work-basket and get me a strip of rag. You ain't got any sticking-plaister, have you?" "I've got some black court-plaister, Mary." "That'll do, chucky; go and get it. Poor boy, he has had a beating!" she muttered as I heard Hetty's steps crossing the kitchen floor. "I'm--I'm better now, Mary," I said faintly; and I tried to rise. "No, you ain't better, neither; and you'll just lie quite still till your head's done," said Mary, in her rough ungracious way. "You needn't be afraid about him; he's gone to bed and sent for the doctor, because he pretends he's so bad, and Mr Emmett the constable is upstairs with him, about going to the magistrates and taking up Mr Wooster for beating him; but he didn't say nothing about taking his self up for beating you, a great ugly coward! Oh! here you are, are you?" "Here's some clean soft linen and the court-plaister," I heard Hetty say with a sob. "Where's your mar?" said Mary. "Upstairs in papa's room." "Ho?" ejaculated Mary, "and I hope she'll stay there. There, don't you begin a-crying again. Hold his hair back while I put this bit on. There, it's not going to bleed any more, and you needn't get shuddering like that at the sight of a little blood. That's the way. Poor boy, it was enough to knock down a hox. Never mind the wet hair; it's only vinegar and water. That's the way; we'll soon strap it up. I don't want to hurt your feelings, Miss Hetty, but your par's a brute." "Oh, Mary! I won't stop in the kitchen if you say such things," cried Hetty, stamping her little foot.