Almira Jane looked very hard at Tommy as she spoke; but Tommy
threw back his head as if he did not much care what she said, and
followed his dog into the dining-room. "Let's keep away from that
girl," he said coaxingly; "it seems to me she is very
interfering."

"She taught me how to teach Gyp," said Master Sunshine politely;
"and she is very wise about animals. You'll be fond of her, too,
when you understand her ways. She only gets 'nervous,' like she
was now, when she is very busy and hurried, or when she thinks
people have been unkind. I'm sure she did not mean that you had
beaten your Tim with a broom."

Tommy hung his head.

"But I did," he said, almost in a whisper; "he would not shake
hands, as I wanted him to, so I took up the broom and gave him a
blow with it. I thought no one saw me do it, and I never imagined
Tim would tell."

Master Sunshine was very much shocked. He had not believed that
his friend would be guilty of such a deed. "Tommy," he said
gravely, "if you are unkind to Tim he will never look at you as if
he loved you, and that is the nicest thing about having a dog."

"I got him a pound of raw meat from the butcher's to make up for
it," said Tommy, half sulkily.

"But that wasn't kind, either, though you meant it to be so,"