Neddy Oram's lost or run away!"

She stopped on seeing Mr. Jonas; her face, that had been a little
pale, flushed deeply, and her eyes had an angry flash. "And it's all
your fault!" she added, with a sudden brave indignation in her tiny
voice as she turned on the schoolmaster and looked at him steadily.

"My fault!" said the schoolmaster, in a startled voice.

"Yes, sir. It's all your fault. If you hadn't made him stand on one
leg until he was almost tired to death, and switched him when he put
the other down, and if you hadn't said you'd cut the skin off of him,
he wouldn't have run away."

And here little Carrie burst out crying, and buried her face, sobbing,
in my lap.

"Brave talk for my timid little girl, Mr. Jonas," I said, in an
undertone, "but all true, I'm afraid."

"What is true?" he asked, looking bewildered.

"All that Carrie has said. This way you have of flogging children does
more harm than good. A man of your clear mind and kindly nature might
surely find some better way to govern your scholars."

Mr. Jonas did not answer. There was a look of pained surprise on his
face.

"Run away, lost!" he exclaimed, after a few moments, rising to his
feet. His manner had become suddenly agitated. "Poor boy! I must see
about this;" and he went out hastily.

When Neddy Oram, who was only ten years old, escaped from the
schoolmaster, he went directly home and hid himself in the garret,
behind some boxes and old furniture. He ran so much faster than his
grandmother that she lost sight of him and did not see him go into the
house. So no search was made for him in the garret. Like some poor
hunted animal that had gained a place of safety, he crouched panting
in his hiding-place, enjoying for a time a sweet sense of security.
But Neddy could not long forget how small and weak and dependent he
was. It was all very well to hide away from his grandmother, but how
was he to get anything to eat?

"Run away!" said a voice that spoke inside of him, but so loud and
clear that he almost started. "Run away!" repeated the voice.
"Grandmother Oram will find you out up here and take you back to
school, and Mr. Jonas will switch you half to death."

I wonder who it was that said this, or how a voice could speak inside
of Neddy Oram? It was a bad spirit, I think, that wished to do him
harm. We may often hear these bad spirits speaking in our thoughts and
telling us to do naughty things. Good spirits speak in our thoughts as