30 A YEAR WITH NELLIE,

whipped me—look! on my hands—for being
disobedient and going on the ice.”

He held out his small palms, that were still
bright red from one or two sharp cuts with
a cane. Nellie looked quite horrified as she
kissed them.

“Qh, I am sorry!” she said in a low shocked
voice. “As though it wasn’t bad enough to
be nearly drowned! I never thought father
would do that. Where is he? I’m going to
tell him that you didn’t deserve it a bit, and
that I ought to be punished, not you, because
I didn’t half try to stop you.”

She started towards the door, for once quite
resolved to confess how much of the fault was
really hers. But Harry held her hand.

“No, don’t, sissy. Father isn’t cross now, you
know. He’s quite forgiven me. And I don’t
mind. It doesn’t hurt any longer. Besides, I
was disobedient. I knew they wouldn’t like
us to go on the pond without asking.”

Nellie’s desire to confess began to fade. It
couldn’t do any good now. She stood looking
first at her brother and then at the door. At
last she came slowly back.

“Perhaps I’ll tell him afterwards,” she said.