He Serves an Apprenticeship. 29

 

must be, and her mother, believing him to know
best, carried out his decree. Little Agnes endured.
it tolerably well in the daytime, but in the night
protested lustily—-was indeed so outrageously in-
dignant, that one evening the following conversa-
tion took place at the tea-table, where Willie sat
and heard it.

“Really, my dear,” said Mrs Macmichael, “I can-
not have your rest disturbed in this way another
night. You must go to Willie’s room, and let me
manage the little squalling thing myself.”

“Why shouldn’t I take my share of the trouble?”
objected her husband.

“ Because you may be called up any moment, and
have no more sleep till next night ; and it is not fair
that what sleep your work does let you have should
be so unnecessarily broken. It’s not as if I couldn’t
manage without you.”

“But Willie’s bed is not big enough for both of
us,” he objected.

“ Then Willie can come and sleep with
me.”

“But Willie wants his sleep as much as I do
mine.”

“ There’s no fear of him: he would sleep though
all the babies in Priory Leas were crying in the
room,” :

“Would IJ really ?” thought Willie, feeling rather
ashamed of himself.