For there were tears in his eyes--eyes singularly bright; and his features worked, as if he had some ado to repress a sob.

In truth he had.

In a breath, in the time it takes to utter a single sound, he had hit on the secret, he had come to the bottom of the mystery, he had learnt that which Basterga, favoured by the position of his room on the upper floor, had learned two months before, that which Grio might have learned, had he been anything but the dull gross toper he was! He had learned, or in a moment of intuition guessed--all.

The power of Basterga, that power over the girl which had so much puzzled and perplexed him, was his also now, to use or misuse, hold or resign.
Yet his first feeling was not one of joy; nor for that matter his second.

The impression went deeper, went to the heart of the man.