Staring at the frightened littlebboy

staring at the frightened littlebboy 1778—9 Hindley came into the kitchen，swearing terribly，just as I was about to hide little Hareton，in a cupboard．I was always afraid that Hindley would hurt his small son，either by accident or on purpose，when he was drunk，so I tried to keep Hareton out of the way．But this time Hindley discovered my plan．

‘Ah，you keep my son in a cupboard，do you！’he cried angrily，picking up a sharp kitchen knife．‘With the devil's help I'll make you swallow this，Ellen！’And he pushed the knife between my teeth．I was never afraid he would hurt me，and calmly took the knife out of my mouth．

‘But that can't be my son，can it？’he continued aggressively，staring at the frightened littlebboy．‘If it is，he should be punished for not running to greet his father．Perhaps I'll cut his ears off！’And then suddenly his manner changed．‘No，Hareton，darling，don't cry！Kiss me，kiss your father！What？You won't？Then I'll break your neck！’