? ? ? ? "Yes'm. That is, I believe they do."
? ? ? ? "You do?"
? ? ? ? "Yes'm."
? ? ? ? The old lady was bending down, Tom watching, with interest emphasized by anxiety. Too late he divined her "drift." The handle of the tell-tale tea-spoon was visible under the bed-valance. Aunt Polly took it, held it up. Tom winced, and dropped his eyes. Aunt Polly raised him by the usual handle- his ear- and cracked his head soundly with her thimble.
? ? ? ? "Now, sir, what did you want to treat that poor dumb beast so, for?"
? ? ? ? "I done it out of pity for him- because he hadn't any aunt."
? ? ? ? "Hadn't any aunt!- you numscull. What has that got to do with it?"
? ? ? ? "Heaps. Because if he'd a had one she'd a burnt him out herself! She'd a roasted his bowels out of him 'thout any more feeling than if he was a human!"
? ? ? ? Aunt Polly felt a sudden pang of remorse. This was putting the thing in a new light; what was cruelty to a cat might be cruelty to a boy, too.
Pages:
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151