those three hundred florins which are due me for my trouble, I will go straightway upstairs after thou art gone to the city and release those two children! And I care not what may be the consequences!”
This knock-down argument evidently convinced Dirk that it would be best to parley no longer with the decided Vrouw Hansleer, but pay her at once. There was a clinking of coins, a counting aloud, several disputes over the reckoning, and at last the matter was settled and peace restored.
“Remember,” warned Dirk as they were leaving the room, “to guard those children well, for they will surely mean more money to us—” Then the door was shut and the listeners heard no more.
“What can all this mean!” queried Gysbert. “Didst thou hear him speak of ‘taking those two brats to Spain in a short time’? That means us, of course! What can he possibly mean to do with us there, and how
