"
"And, Zora, sometimes you steal--you stole the pin from Miss Taylor, and
we stole Mr. Cresswell's mule for two days."
"Yes," she said faintly, with a perplexed wrinkle in her brows, "I stole
it."
"Well, Zora, I don't want you ever to tell another lie, or ever to take
anything that doesn't belong to you."
She looked at him silently with the shadow of something like terror far
back in the depths of her deep eyes.
"Always--tell--the truth?" she repeated slowly.
"Yes."
Her fingers worked nervously.
"All the truth?" she asked.
He thought a while.
"No," said he finally, "it is not necessary always to tell all the
truth; but never tell anything that isn't the truth."
"Never?"
"Never."
"Even if it hurts me?"
"Even if it hurts. God is good, He will not let it hurt much."
"He's a fair God, ain't He?" she mused, scanning the evening sky.
"Yes--He's fair, He wouldn't take advantage of a little girl that did
wrong, when she didn't know it was wrong."
Her face lightened and she held his hands in both hers, and said
solemnly as though saying a prayer:
"I won't lie any more, and I won't steal--and--" she looked at him in
startled wistfulness--he remembered it in after years; but he felt he
had preached enough.
"And now for the seed!" he interrupted joyously. "And then--the Silver
Fleece!"
That night, for the first time, Bles entered Zora's home.
Pages:
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100