"Max made me promise to take care of it and give it back to him, and
besides I wanted to finish the story."

"Neither you nor Max shall ever read such poisonous stuff as that with my
knowledge and consent," replied the captain in stern accents.

"Papa, I didn't think you'd be so unkind," grumbled Lulu, her face
expressing extreme vexation and disappointment, "or that you would throw
away other people's things."

"Unkind, my child?" he said, sitting down beside her and taking her hand
in his. "Suppose you had gathered a quantity of beautiful, sweet-tasted
berries that I knew to be poisonous, and were about to eat them; would it
be unkind in me to snatch them out of your hand and throw them into the
sea?"

"No, sir; because it would kill me to eat them, but that book couldn't
kill me, or even make me sick."

"No, not your body, but it would injure your soul, which is worth far
more. I'm afraid I have been too negligent in regard to the mental food of
my children," he went on after a slight pause, rather as if thinking aloud
than talking to Lulu, "and unfortunately I cannot take the oversight of it
constantly in the future. But remember, Lulu," he added firmly, "I wholly
forbid dime novels, and you are not to read anything without first
obtaining the approval of your father or one of those under whose
authority he has placed you."

Lulu's face was full of sullen discontent and anger. "Papa," she said, "I
don't like to obey those people."