, and tightly closed his eyes. But very soon
they opened. Then he sat up. He looked at Wesley pitifully, and then he
glanced at Margaret. "You don't like boys, do you?" he questioned.

"I like good boys," said Margaret.

Billy was at her knee instantly. "Well say, I'm a good boy!" he
announced joyously.

"I do not think boys who hurt helpless kittens and pull out turkeys'
tails are good boys."

"Yes, but I didn't hurt the kittens," explained Billy. "They got mad
'bout ist a little fun and scratched each other. I didn't s'pose they'd
act like that. And I didn't pull the turkey's tail. I ist held on to the
first thing I grabbed, and the turkey pulled. Honest, it was the turkey
pulled." He turned to Wesley. "You tell her! Didn't the turkey pull? I
didn't know its tail was loose, did I?"

"I don't think you did, Billy," said Wesley.

Billy stared into Margaret's cold face. "Sometimes at night, Belle sits
on the floor, and I lay my head in her lap. I could pull up a chair and
lay my head in your lap. Like this, I mean." Billy pulled up a chair,
climbed on it and laid his head on Margaret's lap. Then he shut his eyes
again. Margaret could have looked little more repulsed if he had been a
snake. Billy was soon up.

"My, but your lap is hard," he said. "And you are a good deal fatter 'an
Belle, too!" He slid from the chair and came back to the middle of the
room.

"Oh but I wisht he wasn't dead!" he cried. The flood broke and Billy
screamed in desperation.

Out of the night a soft, warm young figure flashed through the door and
with a swoop caught him in her arms. She dropped into a chair, nestled
him closely, drooped her fragrant brown head over his little bullet-eyed
red one, and rocked softly while she crooned over him--

"Billy, boy, where have you been?
Oh, I have been to seek a wife,
She's the joy of my life,
But then she's a young thing and she can't leave her mammy!"

Billy clung to her frantically. Elnora wiped his eyes, kissed his face,
swayed and sang.

"Why aren't you asleep?" she asked at last.

"I don't know," said Billy. "I tried. I tried awful hard cos I thought
he wanted me to, but it ist wouldn't come. Please tell her I tried." He
appealed to Margaret.

"He did try to go to sleep," admitted Margaret.

"Maybe he can't sleep in his clothes," suggested Elnora. "Haven't you an
old dressing sacque? I could roll the sleeves."

Margaret got an old sacque, and Elnora put it on