Page:A Girl of the Limberlost.djvu/158

140 sit in them, and let their feet hang down. Billy immediately sat, and allowed his feet to swing. "Margaret," said Sinton after a long silence on the porch, "isn't it true that if Billy had been a half-starved sore cat, dog, or animal of any sort, that you would have pitied and helped care for it, and been glad to see me get any pleasure out of it I could?"

"Yes," said Margaret coldly. "But because I brought a child with an immortal soul, there is no welcome." "That isn't a child, it's an animal." "You just said you would have welcomed an animal." "Not a wild one. I meant a tame beast." "Billy is not a beast!" said Wesley hotly. "He is a very dear little boy. Margaret, you've always done the church-going and Bible reading for this family. How do you reconcile that 'Suffer little children to come unto Me' with the way you are treating Billy?" Margaret arose. "I haven't treated that child. I have only let him alone. I can barely hold myself. He needs the hide tanned about off him!" "If you'd cared to look at his body you'd know that you couldn't find a place to strike without cutting into a raw spot," said Sinton. "Besides, Billy has not done a thing for which a child should be punished. He is only full of life, no training, and with a boy's love of mischief. He did abuse your kittens, but an hour before I saw him risk his life to save one from being run over. He minds what you tell him, and doesn't do anything