Dotty shuddered, though she had known this before. Her mother had often read to her from the Bible, that "whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer." "Well, there was no one to love this poor Harriet; she was not lovable." "No, 'm, she was _hateable_!" remarked Dotty, anxious to say something; for if she held her peace, she was afraid her mother would think she was applying the story to herself. "There was no one to love her; so a woman took her, and was paid for it by the town." "Town? Town, mamma? A _town_ is _houses_." "She was paid for it by men in the town. I don't know whether this woman tried to teach Harriet in the right way or not. It may be she had so much to do that she thought it less trouble to punish her when she was naughty than to instruct her how to be good." "O, yes; I s'pose she struck her with a stick," said Dotty, patting her forefingers together--"just this way." "Harriet had the care of one of Mrs. Gray's children, a lively little boy about two years old." "Was he cunning? As cunning as Katie Clifford? Did he say, 'If you love me, you give me hunnerd dollars; and I go buy me 'tick o' canny'?" "Very likely he was quite as cunning as Katie. You would hardly think any one could get out of patience with such a little creature--would you, my daughter?" "No, indeed!" cried Dotty, eagerly, and feeling that she was on safe ground, for she loved babies dearly, and was always patient with them. "I don't know but Harriet was envious of Mrs. Gray's little boy, because he had nicer things to eat than she had." "Well, it ought to have nicer things, mamma, 'cause it hadn't any teeth." "And she got tired of running after him." "No matter if she did get tired, mamma; the baby was tireder than she was!" "And the parents think now it is very likely she was in the habit of striking him when nobody knew it." "What a naughty, wicked, awful girl!" cried Dotty, her eyes flashing. "She had a fiery temper, my child, and had never learned to control it." Dotty looked at her feet in silence. "The baby was afraid of his little nurse; but he could not speak to tell how he was abused; all he could do was to cry when he was left with Harriet. But one day Mrs. Gray was obliged to go away to see her sick mother. She charged Harriet to take good care of little Freddy, and give him some baked apples and milk if he was hungry." "With bread in?" suggested Dotty. "Yes, I suppose so. Then she kissed her baby. He put his arms around her neck, and cried to go too; but she could not take him." "I s'pose he cried 'cause he 'xpected that awful girl was a-going to shake him," said Dotty, indignantly. "I cannot tell you precisely what Harriet did to him; but when the father and mother got home, that darling boy was moaning in great pain. They sent for the doctor, who said his spine was injured, and perhaps he would never walk again; and, indeed, he never did." "O, mamma! mamma Parlin!"