He looked up with startled

The speaker of these words was Mrs. Ferguson's brother, William Hackman, and his companion was a detective.  The wife had laid her still sleeping child down on the lounge and was coolly completing Alida's preparations for dinner.  Her husband had sunk back into a chair and again buried his face in his hands.  He looked up with startled, bloodshot eyes as his brother-in-law and the stranger entered, and then resumed his former attitude. Mrs. Ferguson briefly related what had happened, and then said, "Take chairs and draw up." "I don't want any dinner," muttered the husband. Mr. William Hackman now gave way to his irritation.  Turning to his brother, he relieved his mind as follows: "See here, Hank Ferguson, if you hadn't the best wife in the land, this gentleman would now be giving you a promenade to jail.  I've left my work for weeks, and spent a sight of money to see that my sister got her rights, and, by thunder!  she's going to have 'em.  We've agreed to give you a chance to brace up and be a man.  If we find out there isn't any man in you, then you go to prison and hard labor to the full extent of the law.  We've fixed things so you can't play any more tricks.  This man is a private detective.  As long as you do the square thing by your wife and child, you'll be let alone.  If you try to sneak off, you'll be nabbed.  Now, if you aint a scamp down to your heel-taps, get up out of that chair like a man, treat your wife as she deserves for letting you off so easy, and don't make her change her mind by acting as if you, and not her, was the wronged person." At heart Ferguson was a weak, cowardly, selfish creature, whose chief aim in life was to have things to suit himself.  When they ceased to be agreeable, he was ready for a change, without much regard for the means to his ends.  He had always foreseen the possibility of the event which had now taken place, but, like all self-indulgent natures, had hoped that he might escape detection.