pen. Her face burned from the slap of the child's words; but
below the scorch of anger and mortification her heart was
bruised. He did not like her to put her arm about him! She drew a
long breath and began to read her letters; but all the while she
was thinking of that scene in the parlor the night before: Blair
crouching against Mrs. Richie, clinging to her white hand;--
voluntarily Sarah Maitland looked at her own hand; "I suppose,"
she said to herself, "he thinks hers is 'pretty'! Where does he
get such notions? I wonder what kind of a woman she is, anyway;
she never says anything about her husband."




CHAPTER III

There came a day when Miss White's little school in the garret
was broken up. Mr. Ferguson declared that David and Blair needed
a boot instead of a petticoat to teach them their Latin--and a
few other things, too! He had found Mrs. Richie in tears because,
under the big hawthorn in her own back yard, David had blacked
Blair's eye, and had himself achieved a bloody nose. Mrs. Richie
was for putting on her things to go and apologize to Mrs.
Maitland, and was hardly restrained by her landlord's snort of
laughter.

"Next time I hope he'll give him two black eyes, and Blair will
loosen one of his front teeth!" said Mr. Ferguson.

David's mother was speechless with horror.