You will find me here tomorrow, and you will decide by that time whether you make an enemy of me or not." He threw open the door, and bowed as graciously as if he had been a sovereign dismissing a subject.
Was he mad?
I hesitated to adopt that conclusion.

There is no denying it, the deaf man had found his own strange and tortuous way to my interest, in spite of myself.

I might even have been in some danger of allowing him to make a friend of me, if I had not been restrained by the fears for Cristel which his language and his manner amply justified, to my mind.

Although I was far from foreseeing the catastrophe that really did happen, I felt that I had returned to my own country at a critical time in the life of the miller's daughter.

My friendly interference might be of serious importance to Cristel's peace of mind--perhaps even to her personal safety as well.
Eager to discover what the contents of the portfolio might tell me, I hurried back to Trimley Deen.