"Come out wi' me, lad;" and they went out into the orchard, where the
fruit-trees were bare of leaves, but ghastly in their tattered
covering of gray moss: and the soughing November wind came with long
sweeps over the fells till it rattled among the crackling boughs,
underneath which the brother and sister sat in the dark; he in her
lap, and she hushing his head against her shoulder.

"Thou should'st na' play wi' fire. It's a naughty trick. Thoul't
suffer for it in worse ways nor this before thou'st done, I'm
afeared. I should ha' hit thee twice as lungeous kicks as Mike, if
I'd been in his place. He did na' hurt thee, I am sure," she
assumed, half as a question.

"Yes but he did. He turned me quite sick." And he let his head fall
languidly down on his sister's breast.

"Come, lad! come, lad!" said she anxiously. "Be a man. It was not
much that I saw. Why, when first the red cow came she kicked me far
harder for offering to milk her before her legs were tied. See thee!
here's a peppermint-drop, and I'll make thee a pasty to-night; only
don't give way so, for it hurts me sore to think that Michael has
done thee any harm, my pretty."

Willie roused himself up, and put back the wet and ruffled hair from
his heated face; and he and Susan rose up, and hand-in-hand went
towards the house, walking slowly and quietly except for a kind of
sob which Willie could not repress. Susan took him to the pump and
washed his tear-stained face, till she thought she had obliterated
all traces of the recent disturbance, arranging his curls for him,
and then she kissed him tenderly, and led him in, hoping to find