"Hungry?" prompted his father. "For raw meat?"
"No, sir. I just sort of needed it."
"For what exactly?"
Red looked miserable and remained silent.
The Astronomer broke in again. "If you don't mind my putting in a few
words--You'll remember that just after breakfast my son came in to ask
what animals ate."
"Oh, you're right. How stupid of me to forget. Look here, Red, did you
take it for an animal pet you've got?"
Red recovered indignant breath. He said, "You mean Slim came in here and
said I had an animal? He came in here and said that? He said I had an
animal?"
"No, he didn't. He simply asked what animals ate. That's all. Now if he
promised he wouldn't tell on you, he didn't. It's your own foolishness
in trying to take something without permission that gave you away. That
happened to be stealing. Now have you an animal? I ask you a direct
question."
"Yes, sir." It was a whisper so low as hardly to be heard.
"All right, you'll have to get rid of it. Do you understand?"
Red's mother intervened. "Do you mean to say you're keeping a
meat-eating animal, Red? It might bite you and give you blood-poison."
"They're only small ones," quavered Red. "They hardly budge if you touch
them."
"They? How many do you have?"
"Two."
"Where are they?"
The Industrialist touched her arm. "Don't chivvy the child any further,"
he said, in a low voice. "If he says he'll get rid of them, he will,
and that's punishment enough."
He dismissed the matter from his mind.