Part 4 (1/2)
”Stand aside, my dear,” replied Squeers ”We'll try and find out”
Mrs Squeers, being out of breath with her exertions, corip; one desperate cut had fallen on his body--he incing froain, and again about to fall--when Nicholas Nickleby suddenly starting up, cried: ”Stop!” in a voice that
”Who cried stop?” said Squeers, turning savagely round
”I,” said Nicholas, stepping forward ”This o on!” cried Squeers, alhast and stupefied by the boldness of the interference, Squeers released his hold of Sazed upon Nicholas with looks that were positively frightful
”I saydaunted; ”shall not I will prevent it”
Squeers continued to gaze upon hi out of his head; but astonishment had actually, for the arded all my quiet interference in the miserable lad's behalf,” said Nicholas; ”you have returned no answer to the letter in which I begged forgiveness for him, and offered to be responsible that he would remain quietly here Don't blaht it upon yourself, not I”
”Sit down, beggar!” screa Smike as he spoke
”Wretch!” rejoined Nicholas fiercely, ”touch him at your peril! I will not stand by and see it done My blood is up, and I have the strength of ten such men as you Look to yourself, for, by Heaven, I will not spare you, if you drivehis weapon
”I have a long series of insults to avenge,” said Nicholas, flushed with passion; ”and ravated by the dastardly cruelties practised on helpless infancy in this foul den Have a care; for, if you do raise the devil within me, the consequences shall fall heavily upon your own head!”
He had scarcely spoken, when Squeers, in a violent outbreak of wrath, and with a cry like the howl of a wild beast, spit upon him, and struck him a blow across the face with his instrument of torture, which raised up a bar of livid flesh as it was inflicted S into that one nation, Nicholas sprang upon hi him by the throat, beat the ruffian till he roared for mercy
The boys--with the exception of Master Squeers, who, co to his father's assistance, harassed the enemy in the rear--moved not hand or foot; but Mrs Squeers, withon to the tail of her partner's coat, and endeavoured to drag him from his infuriated adversary; while Miss Squeers, who had been peeping through the keyhole in expectation of a very different scene, darted in at the very beginning of the attack, and after launching a shower of inkstands at the usher's head, beat Nicholas to her heart's content: ani herself at every bloith the recollection of his having refused her proffered love, and thus ith to an arm which (as she took after her mother in this respect) was, at no time, one of the weakest
Nicholas, in the full torrent of his violence, felt the blows notired of the noise and uproar, and feeling that his arth into half a dozen finishi+ng cuts and flung Squeers from him, with all the force he could muster The violence of his fall precipitated Mrs Squeers co his head against it in his descent, lay at his full length on the ground, stunned and ht affairs to this happy terh satisfaction, that Squeers was only stunned, and not dead (upon which point he had had some unpleasant doubts at first), Nicholas left his family to restore him and retired to consider what course he had better adopt He looked anxiously round for Smike, as he left the room, but he was nowhere to be seen
After a brief consideration, he packed up a few clothes in a s that nobody offered to oppose his progress, marched boldly out by the front door and started to walk to London
Near the school he met John Browdie, the honest corn factor
John saw that Nicholas had received a severe blow, and asked the reason
”The fact is,” said Nicholas, not very well knowing how to make the avowal, ”the fact is, that I have been ill-treated”
”Noa!” interposed John Browdie, in a tone of coth and stature, and Nicholas, very likely, in his eyes, seemed a mere dwarf; ”dean't say thot”
”Yes, I have,” replied Nicholas, ”by thatthis place in consequence”
”What!” cried John Browdie, with such an ecstatic shout, that the horse quite shi+ed at it ”Beatten the schoolmeasther! Ho! ho! ho!
Beatten the schoolmeasther! who ever heard o' the loike o' that noo!