Mrs Vallery went upstairs to see Norman. She found him still seated in
the chair looking very sulky.
"Mrs Norton and Susan and everybody have been scolding at me," he
muttered; "I wish you would send them all away. And Fanny is as bad as
any of them, and nobody cares for me, and Fanny has slapped my face, and
I will slap hers another time, though she is a girl," and Norman began
to cry.
"My dear child, we all care very much for you," said his mamma, not
knowing of course how he had cut his finger, and as she had promised
Fanny not to do so, she did not ask him. "I am very sorry that Fanny
should have slapped your face, but I am afraid you must have done
something to provoke her, I must ask her why she did it. I cannot help
thinking that you must have been naughty, or Mrs Norton and Susan would
not have scolded you. Come down with me into the garden, we will have a
game of battledore and shuttlecock on the lawn, the fresh air will do
you good."
"I cannot play, my hand hurts me so much," answered Norman.
Mrs Vallery, seeing from the small size of the finger-stall Mrs Norton
had put on, that the injury could not be very severe, insisted that
Norman should accompany her.
"You will soon, I hope, Norman, go to school, where you will have other
boys to play with," observed Mrs Vallery, as she led him downstairs.
She felt that the child was left too much alone by himself, and that if
placed with companions of his own age, they would assist to correct some
of his many faults. "If his papa consents to send him to school, he
will at all events not be permitted there to have his own way, as he has
hitherto been," she said to herself, and she determined to try and get
Captain Vallery to select a school as soon as possible, knowing well
that Mrs Leslie would support her.
As it was Norman's left hand which had been hurt, he was very well able
to hold a battledore, and after playing with his mamma a short time, he
recovered his usual spirits, and appeared totally to forget how naughty
he had been. He wondered that nobody had asked him how he had cut his
finger, or spoke to him about Miss Lucy, not understanding the forgiving
spirit which had induced Fanny to refrain from speaking of his conduct.
"Perhaps she is afraid of saying anything about it, because she slapped
my face," he thought.
At last, Mrs Vallery went in to get ready for dinner.
Fanny found Norman who had been sent into the drawing-room to put the
battledores and shuttlecock away.
"How is your finger?" she asked, in a pitying tone.
"Oh, it smarts very much," he answered, "though I do not think you care
much about it."
"Indeed, I do, dear Norman," she said; "you do not know how sorry I am
that I slapped your face, and granny has given me some salve and some
soft linen to bind up your finger again, and if you will come here, I
will try and do it very gently, and not hurt you."
Fanny sat down in her granny's chair. Taking off the wrapping which
Mrs Norton had put on, and which was somewhat stained with blood, she
replaced it with a nice soft piece covered with salve, which felt very
cool, and soon took away all the pain.
Having done this Fanny affectionately kissed him.
"You will forgive me for slapping your face, won't you, dear brother?"
she said, "you know I could not help feeling angry, when I saw that you
had spoilt my beautiful doll; but I do not want you to be punished, and
so I have not told anybody except Mrs Norton, and she found it out of
herself."
"You are afraid of being punished for slapping my face," answered the
ungrateful little boy.
"Oh, how can you say that, Norman?" exclaimed Fanny, ready to burst into
tears at the unfeeling observation. "I would have told mamma that I
slapped you, but then I knew that that would have shown what you had
done; but I did tell Mrs Norton, and she said I was wrong, and I knew I
was, and I want you to forgive me for that."
"I do not know what you mean by `forgive,'" said Norman.
"That you do not feel angry or vexed, or wish to slap my face, or do me
any harm, and that you love me as much as you did before, and will try
to forget all about it," answered Fanny. "That is what I think is the
meaning of forgiving, and that is what I know I ought to do about the
way you treated Miss Lucy. I wish there would not be the ugly mark on
her neck, which I am afraid she always will have, even when Mrs Norton
gets her head put on, as she has promised to do; but I must try and make
her a high frock with a frill, which will come under her chin, and hide
it, and then I shall not see the mark, and so I hope I shall soon forget
what you did to her."
Norman opened his large eyes, and fixed them on his sister.
"I think I know better than I did before what to forgive means," he
observed; "I wish, Fanny, I was more like you."
Just then Susan, who had been looking for the children to get them ready
for tea, came in, and led off Norman. Unfortunately she had discovered
how he had treated Miss Lucy, and she thought fit to give him another
scolding. This made him angry, and he entirely forgot all that Fanny in
her gentle way had told him about forgiveness. Once more he hardened
his heart and thought that now he was equal with Fanny, as he had lost
his football, and her doll had lost its head.
Captain Vallery returned home later than usual. Norman, who heard his
ring at the door, ran down to meet him, and was much disappointed to
find that he had not brought a new football.
"I thought, papa, that you would have remembered that my football is
spoilt," he exclaimed, "and would have brought another."
"But who spoilt it, let me ask?" said Captain Vallery. "As you spoilt
the football, you should be the person to mend it, and you should not
expect me to bring you a new one."
"But I cannot mend it, papa," said Norman.
"People often find that they cannot remedy the harm they have done,"
observed his papa.
Norman, who was afraid that his papa might hear of the way he had
treated his sister's doll, did not ask any further questions.
All the next day he behaved much better. His finger hurt him, and
morning and evening he went humbly to Fanny to get it dressed, because
he found she did it so gently and carefully.
No one said anything about the doll, and he wondered what had become of
it. Once or twice he thought that if he could find it he would put it
out of the way altogether, for he was dreadfully afraid lest his granny
or papa should discover that its head had been cut off. At last he
thought he would dig a hole in the garden and put it into it, and cover
it up, and then no one would be able to find it.
"Fanny has not told about it," he thought, "she and Mrs Norton are the
only people who know what I did, and as they have said nothing as yet, I
hope that they will not."
Norman did not consider that although neither his papa or mamma or
granny might discover what he proposed doing, God would not only see
him, but knew already the evil in his heart, and that should he continue
to indulge his bad feelings, they would grow with his growth, and when
he became a man they would too probably make him do things too terrible
to mention.
As soon as he had made up his mind what to do, while Fanny was at her
lessons, he stole into her room, expecting to find the doll. He saw
that it was not in the doll's house, and so he looked into her bed, and
then he opened all her drawers, but no doll was to be found. He had
seen her one day going in with it to granny's room, so he thought it
might be there. Mrs Leslie was downstairs, he therefore hoped that he
might be able to creep in and search for the doll without being
discovered. He listened, the drawing-room door was closed, and he knew
that Susan was not in that part of the house, so, walking on tiptoes, in
he stole. He looked about in every part of the room where he thought
the doll might be placed.
"Perhaps Fanny puts it in one of the drawers," he said to himself, "but
then what would granny say if she found out that I had looked into
them."
At last he put his hands to the handle, and opened a drawer just wide
enough to peep in, but the doll was not there. He opened the next, but
using greater force, he pulled it much wider open than he had intended:
no doll was within. He tried to close it, but found he could not
succeed, he pushed and pushed, still the drawer would not close; at
last, putting his shoulder to it, he lifted it up, and the drawer shut,
but in doing so it made much more noise than he had expected. There was
still another drawer below it--he thought he would just peep in, and
then run away as fast as possible. He took hold of the handle, and
pulled and pulled, but the drawer would not open, for a good reason,
because it was locked. This he did not discover, but thought he would
pull once more, and if he did not succeed, he would give it up. He took
hold of the handles, and exerted all his strength, suddenly he found,
though the handles were in his hands, they had come out of the drawer,
and over he rolled backwards. In falling he made a loud thump on the
floor. Just then, before he had time to jump up, the door opened, and
there stood his granny. She looked at him with astonishment.
"What! have you been trying to open my drawers?" she asked gravely, "it
is very wrong in you if you have," but she felt too much grieved at such
a thing to speak angrily.
"I came to look--to look--to look for Fanny's doll," blurted out Norman.
"To look for Fanny's doll!" said Mrs Leslie, "I thought you did not
care for dolls? Did Fanny send you for hers?"
"No," answered Norman, "but I wanted her."
"Fanny has not brought her doll to me for some time, and perhaps she has
a good reason for not doing so," said Mrs Leslie, looking at Norman.
"It would, even if you knew that the doll was there, have been very
wrong of you to have looked into my drawers without my permission. I am
sure your papa and mamma would not approve of your doing so."
"Oh, do not tell them!" cried Norman, "perhaps papa will beat me again,
and it's all Fanny's fault, she should not have had a doll now that my
football is spoilt!"
"I will make no promises," said Mrs Leslie, "go into your room, and
remain there, while I speak to your mamma. The last remarks you made
about your sister having a doll, shows that you have a jealous feeling
of her, and prevents me from wishing to get your football mended, as I
had thought of doing. People who are jealous of others are never happy,
and I should only encourage you, were I to do as I purposed."
Norman went into his room and sat himself down in his arm-chair. He
thought that granny had let him off very well, as she had only scolded
him, and what she had said did not make him at all ashamed of himself,
nor did he see his fault. His only fear was that granny might tell his
papa, who, though he allowed him to have his own way in many things,
would, he had sense enough to know, be very much displeased with what he
had done.
"What can have become of Miss Lucy though?" he thought, "I still must
try to find her! I wonder if they know that I cut off her head."
He was allowed to remain in his room till he heard Fanny, who had done
her lessons, calling to him. She invited him to have a game before
dinner on the lawn.
When there, she produced from under her pinafore a trap and bat.
"Papa brought this yesterday in his pocket and gave it to me that I
might play with you."
Fanny put it down on the ground.
"What a strange looking thing," exclaimed Norman, "what are we to do
with it?"
"I will show you," said Fanny, putting the ball into the trap and taking
the bat in her right hand. "Now keep a little behind me, and I will
force the ball up, then I will hit it with the bat and send it up into
the air to a distance."
Fanny, very adroitly, made the ball fly nearly across the lawn.
"You observe where it fell; now go there and try and catch it, and if
you do so you will get me out, and you will have the right to come and
play at the trap till I put you out. Or, if you roll the ball up and
hit the trap you put me out."
Fanny played for some time, but at last, finding that Norman could not
catch the ball nor roll it against the trap, thought that he would
become impatient, and she hit it only a little way. He ran up, and
without discovering that she did this to please him, soon managed to
roll the ball against the trap.
"Ah, I have put you out at last, Miss," he exclaimed, "and now you shall
see where I send the ball to, you had better go to the other side of the
lawn, and try and catch me out if you can!"
Norman seized the bat, looking as if he was going to do great things,
and Fanny went, as he desired her, to a distance.
The first time he struck the trap he upset it, and the ball tumbled down
by his side. Again and again he tried to hit the ball, but always
missed it, and it sometimes scarcely rose out of the cup.
"What a stupid bat this is," he exclaimed, losing patience, "I wonder
you could manage to make the ball jump out of it."
"All you want is patience and practice," answered Fanny, "try and try
again, I do not mind looking out for you?"
Norman made a few more attempts, with equal want of success.
"You have done something to the trap I am sure, or I should be able to
hit the ball," he cried out.
"Nonsense!" said Fanny laughing, "it is entirely your own fault, strike
the tail more gently and keep your eye on the ball, you will be able to
hit it."
Once more he tried, but instead of hitting the trap more gently, Norman
used greater force, and consequently upset it, and looking to see what
had happened, instead of keeping his eyes on the ball, the latter in
falling hit him slightly on the head; this was enough for him, and when
Fanny, laughing, was coming up to him, altogether losing his temper he
threw the bat at her with all his force. It fortunately missed her
head, but striking her on the shoulder hurt her very much.
"O Norman, how could you do that!" she exclaimed, seizing him by the
arm. "I was only going to show you how to use the bat, and you might
have killed me," she said, naturally feeling very angry with him. "You
naughty, naughty boy!"
Norman lifted up his fist as if about to strike her, Fanny seized his
other arm, he struggled to free himself. At that moment Mrs Vallery
came out of the house.
"What are you children about?" she asked. "Fanny my dear, what are you
doing to your little brother?"
"She was laughing at me," cried out Norman, "and because I was angry,
she is pinching me all over."
"Indeed, I am not," said Fanny, and though an instant before she had
felt very angry with Norman, having overcome the feeling, she did not
like to say that he had thrown the bat at her.
"I laughed at him, mamma, merely because he missed the ball so often,
and when I came near him he wanted to hit me."
"And I did hit you," cried Norman, "and I will hit you again if you
laugh at me," and again he struggled to get free.
"My dear Fanny, you should have more consideration for your little
brother," remarked Mrs Vallery, coming up to them.
Fanny let go her hold of Norman, who gave a vicious kick out at her as
she did so, and ran to his mamma's side.
Poor Fanny felt inclined to cry at the rebuke she had received, and yet
she would not excuse herself by saying what Norman had done. That young
gentleman, considering he had gained a triumph, shouted out--
"Now you may go and play by yourself, I do not want to have anything
more to do with the stupid trap and bat."
"It is very ungrateful in you to say that, Norman, after your papa
brought it down expressly for you," said Mrs Vallery. "Stay and play
on, and try if you cannot do better; and, Fanny, let me ask you not to
laugh at the little fellow if he does not manage to hit the ball as
often as you do."
"I will gladly stop and play with Norman, and promise not to laugh at
him," answered Fanny, ever ready to forgive, though, as she moved her
arm, she felt much pain.
"Will you try again, Norman, and let me show you how you may hit the
ball?" she said gently.
Norman sulkily consented, and their mamma, thinking that he was
reconciled to his sister, returned to the house.
Fanny again set to work to show her brother how he ought to strike the
trap, and in a short time, by following her directions, he was able to
send the ball some distance. He now, highly delighted, kept her running
about in all directions. Her arm hurt her too much to enable her to
catch the ball, and though she might frequently have rolled it back
against the trap and put him out, seeing how much amused he was she
refrained from doing so.
"We will have another game by-and-by," he exclaimed, as they were
summoned to dinner, and he went in highly pleased with his performance,
and ready to boast about it, but he entirely forgot the injury he had
done to poor Fanny.
They had another game in the afternoon, though Fanny could with
difficulty play.
When she was putting on her frock in the evening to go down to dessert,
Susan observed that her shoulder was very black.
"What have you done to your shoulder, Miss Fanny?" she asked; "I must
put something to it."
Fanny had to confess that Norman had thrown the bat at her, but begged
Susan not to scold him.
"I cannot promise, Miss, not to do that," she answered, "I am so angry
with him. He is a regular little tyrant. Trusty knows it, if nobody
else does, for, from the day the young gentleman came into the house he
has kept away from him, and I think he ought to be whipped for many
other things besides telling stories."
Fanny again pleaded in her usual way for her young brother, though she
could not help confessing to herself that Susan was right.
At dessert Fanny sat next to her grandmamma, but her hurt shoulder was
turned away from her and was towards Norman, who saw the black mark and
remembering how it must have been caused, was in a great fright all the
time he was eating the dish of strawberries his papa gave him, lest some
one else would discover it. It might possibly have prevented him from
enjoying his dessert as much as he otherwise would have done. Their
mamma was sitting opposite, and saw the mark, but thought it was a
shadow cast on Fanny's shoulder, and thus no one said anything on the
subject.
Norman congratulated himself when he and Fanny went up to bed, that his
violent act had escaped detection. Susan, however, who had undertaken
to put him to bed, asked him how he had dared to strike his sister in
the way he had done.
"I did not strike her, she held my arms and pinched me too much for
that."
"What do you call throwing a bat at her and hitting her with it, then?"
asked Susan.
"If you ask me questions I will strike you, you tiresome thing,"
exclaimed Norman, tearing off his clothes as fast as he could, in the
hopes of getting Susan quickly out of the room.
"You had better not, young gentleman," said Susan; "your grandmamma does
not allow anybody to be struck in this house, and I should hold you a
good deal tighter than your sister did."
Norman never dared to answer Susan when she spoke in that tone of voice,
and so he held his tongue till she had washed him and put him into bed,
when his mamma came upstairs to hear him say his prayers. I am afraid
that Norman merely uttered the words, for his heart was certainly not
right towards God, nor did he even feel sorry for what he had done.
The next day, when Mrs Norton arrived, Norman saw that she had
something wrapped up in her shawl. As she unfolded it, there was Miss
Lucy, with a high dress, and frill round her neck.
"Oh, thank you! thank you! dear Mrs Norton," exclaimed Fanny, kissing
her, "how very kind of you, and such a pretty dress! She really looks
as nice as ever, and I am sure I shall soon forget what a dreadful
accident happened to her," and she cast a forgiving, affectionate look
at Norman. He did not return it, but eyed Miss Lucy askance, muttering,
"My ball is not mended."
Mrs Norton did not hear him, and Fanny hoped her ears had deceived her.
"My dear, why do you not lean on your left arm, as I have told you,"
said Mrs Norton when Fanny was taking her writing lesson.
"My shoulder hurts me," answered Fanny, "and, if you will excuse me, I
will try and write without doing so."
"There, now, she is going to tell her governess I threw the bat at her,"
thought Norman.
Fanny particularly wished to avoid giving any reason why her shoulder
hurt her, and when Mrs Norton asked what was the matter with her arm,
she replied, that it was nothing very serious, she was sure, and hoped
that it would soon be well.
Mrs Norton seeing that she did not wish to talk about it, forebore to
question her on the subject.
As soon as her lessons were over, Fanny took her doll up to her room,
and reintroduced her to Nancy. Norman who had followed her, watched her
with an envious eye, as she made the two dolls talk to each other.
After she had played with them for some time, she put Miss Lucy on her
bed, and she and Norman went down into the drawing-room.
Norman had not given up his evil intention of putting Miss Lucy out of
the way. He forgot all his sweet sister's forbearance, and
loving-kindness towards him; and still allowed that terrible feeling of
envy to rankle in his heart.
A few days before, Mrs Leslie and her daughter had received an
invitation to pay a visit, with the children, to some friends in
Scotland. Captain Vallery was unable to accompany them, being detained
in London, but he expected shortly to follow. Fanny was delighted at
the thought of visiting the Highlands, and seeing the beautiful lakes
and streams, and mountains, she had heard so much of.
"I don't care for those sort of things," observed Norman, as he heard
their plans discussed at dinner.
"Shall we have elephants to ride on, or tiger shooting?" he asked, "that
would suit papa and me best."
Fanny burst into a fit of merry laughter, at which Norman got very
angry.
"Don't you know that there are no elephants or tigers in this part of
the world?" inquired Fanny. "The only wild animals are deer, and I
always think how cruel it is to shoot such beautiful creatures, when I
hear of people hunting them."
"Perhaps papa and I will go out and shoot them, only women and girls
think shooting cruel," said Norman scornfully.
"A little boy should not speak disrespectfully of the tender feelings of
women and girls," observed Mrs Leslie. "Fanny is very right when she
expresses her sorrow, at hearing of deer being killed merely for sport,
though if they were allowed to live in great numbers they would prevent
other more useful animals from finding pasture."
"I say it is very good fun, shooting animals of all sorts," exclaimed
Norman.
"You should not speak to your grandmamma in that tone," said Mrs
Vallery.
Norman always grew angry when rebuked, and muttered something to
himself, of which no one took notice.
After dinner Fanny remained with her granny and mamma to do some work,
while Norman stole out of the room. He stood in the hall for some
minutes, and then creeping upstairs, went into Fanny's bed-chamber.
There on the bed lay Miss Lucy. Taking her up he silently came
downstairs, and made his way by the back door into the garden, hoping
that no one observed him.
"I will pay Fanny off for laughing at me," he muttered, as he ran
quickly, with Lucy in his arms, towards the plot of ground at the
farthest end, near Fanny's garden which had remained uncultivated. He
had left Fanny's spade there the day before. Picking it up and hiding
the doll in the shrubbery, he began digging away in the soft ground till
he had made a large and deep hole. Not caring how much the earth would
spoil Miss Lucy's wax face and pretty dress, he placed her in it, and
then covered her completely over, smoothing the ground so that, as he
thought, no one would discover that he had been digging there.
"Now though my football is spoilt, Fanny will never get her doll again,
and so we are equal," he muttered to himself, as he went towards the
tool-house to leave the spade there.
Just then he caught sight of Trusty running along the path. The dog
never came near him if he could help it.
Norman put the spade where he had intended, and returning to the lawn,
began playing with his trap and ball. He soon grew tired of being by
himself, so going to the drawing-room window, he shouted out--
"Fanny I want you to come and play with me."
"You may go out, and try and amuse your little brother," said Mrs
Vallery, "he should not be left so much by himself."
Fanny, though she wanted to finish her work, without a word of
remonstrance, put it aside, and ran out to the lawn.
"Now, Fanny, just try and catch the ball if you can, I have got the
trap, so I intend to be in first," said Norman striking the trap with
his bat.
Fanny did as her brother asked her.
For some time, though she might easily often have put him out, wishing
to afford him all the amusement in her power, she refrained from doing
so. When she proposed stopping, he, in his usual style, ordered her to
go on. She did so a few minutes longer, and, as he now managed to hit
the ball to a considerable distance, she had to run about a great deal.
At last she began to lose patience, and, rolling the ball against the
trap, she told him that he must now give up the bat to her. On this he
threw it down, declaring he had played long enough.
"That is not fair," she exclaimed. "You ought to go and look out for
me."
He refused to do so, and walked away; while Fanny, feeling more angry
with him than she had ever before been, went into the house.
"As Norman will not play properly, I must go and amuse myself with Miss
Lucy," she thought.
She entered her room; Miss Lucy was not on her bed, where she was
certain she had left her. She hunted about, and then went to Susan to
ask if she had taken her.
"I have not even been into your room, Miss Fanny," answered Susan; "but
I suspect, if she has gone, who took her. Just do you go and ask your
brother."
Fanny ran after Norman, and found him in the path leading to their part
of the garden.
"Where is my doll?" she inquired.
"What do I know about your doll?" he exclaimed. He was afraid to say
that he had not taken her because he remembered the whipping his papa
had given him.
"I am sure you have taken her," exclaimed Fanny; "Susan says so, and
told me to ask you."
"How did she dare to say that?" cried Norman. "You had better look for
your doll, and if you find her you will have her again, and if not, you
will not be worse off than I am without my football, which I liked just
as much as you do your stupid doll."
"My doll is not stupid," cried Fanny; "you tried to make her so by
cutting her head off, you naughty, ill-natured boy;" and Fanny seized
his arm feeling much inclined to box his ears.
"Let me alone," cried Norman. "I am not going to talk about your stupid
doll, and stupid she is; and I wish Mrs Norton had not put on her head
again. I will tell papa you pinched me, though you do pretend to be so
sweet and gentle."
Fanny felt both hurt and indignant and angry at this accusation. She
let go her brother's arm, and looked at him in a way which she had never
before done.
"You have taken my doll, I know you have, and I do not believe you, even
though you say that you have not," she exclaimed.
"I won't say anything about it," said Norman, looking very determined.
"Then I must ask granny and mamma, to make you, you naughty boy," she
cried.
"They cannot make me if I do not know where she is; and I will pay you
off for threatening me," cried Norman.
Fanny was going back to the house, feeling unable to bear any longer
with her little brother, when she caught sight of Trusty, at the further
end of the walk, scratching away with might and main in the ground near
her garden. Norman saw him too, and felt very uncomfortable. If he did
not drive the dog away, what he had done would certainly be discovered;
but he dare not go near him without his whip, for Trusty was apt to
snarl if he attempted to catch him.
"What can Trusty be about?" she exclaimed, going towards her garden.
Norman followed, though he would rather have run away. As he went on he
picked up some stones, which the gardener had dug up out of a newly-made
bed. He was just going to throw one at the dog, when Fanny turning
round saw him and held his hand; while Trusty, scratching away more
vehemently than ever, caught hold of a piece of white muslin, which he
had exposed to view, and dragged forth poor Miss Lucy sadly dirtied and
disfigured. Norman let the stones drop from his hands in dismay.
"You did it! I know you did! You buried her when she was not dead--
though you had cut her head off--you naughty, wicked, bad boy," cried
Fanny bestowing several slaps on her brother's face ere she rushed
forward to pick up her doll.
Fanny's tears fell fast while she endeavoured to brush off the black
earth from poor Miss Lucy's face, and shook her muslin frock; but still
a great deal of earth remained about her hair, and in her eyes and
mouth. Poor Fanny lost all control of herself as she gazed at the sad
spectacle. Norman stood by unmoved though he did not like the boxes on
the ears he had received. Again Fanny flew at him and repeated her
blows, when Trusty began to bark, eager to assist his young mistress,
and very sure that she was doing right.
Norman on this, taking fright, ran along the path towards the house as
fast as he could go, Trusty barking at his heels, and Fanny following
him. The boy shrieked as he ran, crying louder and louder.
His voice reached his mamma's ears, and she hurried out, fearing that
some accident had happened. Mrs Leslie also came out; and at the same
moment Captain Vallery arrived. Norman rushed up to them, shrieking out
that Trusty was going to bite him, and that Fanny had been beating him
black and blue.
Fanny came up directly afterwards, the tears dropping from her eyes, her
face flushed, and still bearing the traces of her unusual anger, while
her sobs prevented her from explaining what had happened, or defending
herself. All she could do, was to hold up her doll, and point to
Norman.
"He did it, he did it!" then her tears gushed forth afresh.
"She beat me, she beat me!" retorted Norman.
"I am afraid you both have been very naughty," said Mrs Vallery.
"You know I never allow Norman to be beaten except by me," observed
Captain Vallery.
Mrs Leslie, who had more confidence in Fanny than her own parents had,
said--
"Let us hear what provocation Norman gave, before we condemn her. What
has occurred, my dear child?"
"He buried Miss Lucy to hide her from me," sobbed Fanny. "If Trusty had
not pulled her out, I should never have found her, and she would have
been entirely spoilt; as it is, the poor creature's eyes are full of
dirt, and her pretty gown is all covered with earth."
Fanny continued sobbing as if her young heart would break.
Her granny now led her into the house, followed by Mrs Vallery holding
Norman by the hand.
Though he would not confess what he had done, the fact was evident, but
as he had not told a story, his papa did not offer to whip him, as he
deserved. Mrs Vallery spoke to him very seriously, and he listened to
her lecture quietly enough, as he did not mind being scolded.
Her granny had done her best in the meantime to comfort Fanny, and with
the assistance of Susan put Miss Lucy to rights, though several ugly
marks remained on her face, and her frock required to be carefully
washed.
Before going to bed she found Norman, and telling him how sorry she was
that she had beaten him, forgave him with all her heart for the injury
he had done her doll.
"You will not try to hurt her again, will you, Norman?" she said,
"promise me that, or I shall be afraid of leaving her for a moment, lest
you should find her, and do her some harm."
Norman promised, and Fanny kissed him, and felt at length more happy,
though, as she laid her young head on the pillow, it seemed, as if
something very terrible had happened during the day. Norman did not
trouble himself much about the matter; he had got off very cheaply, and
it is possible that he really was happier than if he had succeeded in
hiding Miss Lucy, and utterly destroying her--he certainly would have
been very uncomfortable while people were looking for her, and he was
dreading that she would be discovered, and his wicked act brought to
light.
The day arrived when the family were to go to Scotland. Captain Vallery
accompanied them to London, and saw them off by the train. Fanny had
never made so long a journey before, as she had only been up and down
occasionally with her granny to town. It seemed very strange to her to
find the train going on and on, passing by towns, and villages, and
country houses, without stopping: sometimes for a whole hour together it
flew on and she found that fifty miles had been passed over. Norman
laughed at her exclamations of surprise and delight.
"Oh, this is nothing," he observed, "we have come all the way from India
by a steamer, through the Suez Canal and then along the Mediterranean
and right through France."
"You are a young traveller; Fanny knows that. Perhaps some day she may
make the same journey," observed Mrs Leslie. "Still you should not
despise your sister, because she has not seen as much as you have."
The party remained a few days in Edinburgh to see various friends, and
then proceeded on to Glen Tulloch--a romantic place in the Highlands--
the residence of Mr and Mrs Maclean, with whom they had been invited
to stay.
Every one was pleased with Fanny, and thought Norman a very fine boy,
and he was perfectly satisfied with the praises he heard bestowed on
him.
The house stood on the side of a hill, with a stream running into a loch
on one side, and a wide extent of level wild ground above it.
Mr Maclean showed the children a rough little carriage he had had
built, and told Fanny that she might take it out whenever she liked, and
give her brother a drive over the moor.
"I daresay as he has only just come from India, he is unaccustomed to
walk over our rough ground, and you need not be afraid of breaking the
carriage, you can go where you like."
Fanny was delighted, and offered at once to take Norman out.
"Yes, and I will sit in the carriage, and drive you with my whip, that
will be good fun," said Norman.
His whip, however, had not been brought to Scotland, but Mr Maclean,
who thought he was in fun, cut him a long stick, and helped the children
up the hill with the carriage. When they got on level ground, he wished
them good-bye, and Fanny dragging the carriage into which Norman got,
they proceeded on their journey.
The carriage was roughly made, being merely a wooden box cut out, on
either side with thick wooden wheels, and a pole by which it was
dragged. Norman, however, thought it very good fun to sit in it, and be
drawn along. At first, he contented himself with merely flourishing the
stick, but when Fanny did not go fast enough to please him, he began to
hit at her with it.
"Go on, my little horse, go on. I wish you were a coolie, and I would
soon make you move faster," he shouted out, hitting at her several
times.
As long as he only struck her dress, Fanny did not mind, but when the
young tyrant, leaning forward, began to beat her on the shoulders, she
turned round and declared that she would go no farther if he did so
again.
"But I will make you," he answered; "go on, I say."
Fanny stopped, and again told him not to use his stick as he was doing.
"Well, go on and you will see," he said, letting his stick hang out
behind the carriage, for he was afraid that she would take it from him.
Fanny once more began to drag the carriage forward, but she had not got
far when she felt the stick on her shoulders.
"You are not going fast enough to please me," cried Norman.
"I told you that I would not draw you at all if you hit me, and you have
done so notwithstanding," said Fanny, feeling very angry.
"You cannot leave me out here by myself, so you must drag me home," said
Norman, "and I am determined that you shall go as fast as I like."
"Home we will go, then," answered Fanny, and, turning the carriage
round, she began to return by the way they had come.
Norman seemed determined to make her angry, for after they had gone a
little way he again hit her with the end of his stick. Suddenly turning
round, she snatched it from him, and, breaking it in two, threw it to a
distance.
Norman was afraid of getting out, lest his sister should run off with
the carriage, and as she could not now be struck, she dragged it home as
fast as she could go.
Mr Maclean seemed somewhat surprised to see his young friends return so
soon.
Norman lost his excursion, and Fanny, in her kindness, thinking that he
was sufficiently punished, did not say how he had treated her.