The switch hovered in the air the peril was desperate
My! Look behind you, aunt!
The old lady whirled round, and snatched her skirts out of danger.
The lad fled on the instant, scrambled up the high board-fence, and
disappeared over it.
His aunt Polly stood surprised a moment, and then broke into a gentle
laugh.
Hang the boy, can t I never learn anything? Ain t he played me tricks
enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time? But old
fools is the biggest fools there is. Can t learn an old dog new tricks,
as the saying is. But my goodness, he never plays them alike, two days,
and how is a body to know what s coming? He pears to know just how long
he can torment me before I get my dander up, and he knows if he can make
out to put me off for a minute or make me laugh, it s all down again and
I can t hit him a lick. I ain t doing my duty by that boy, and that s
the Lord s truth, goodness knows. Spare the rod and spile the child, as
the Good Book says. I m a laying up sin and suffering for us both, I
know. He s full of the Old Scratch, but laws-a-me! he s my own dead
sister s boy, poor thing, and I ain t got the heart to lash him,
somehow. Every time I let him off, my conscience does hurt me so, and
every time I hit him my old heart most breaks. Well-a-well, man that is
born of woman is of few days and full of trouble, as the Scripture says,
and I reckon it s so. He ll play hookey this evening,[*] and I ll just
be obleeged to make him work, tomorrow, to punish him. It s mighty hard
to make him work Saturdays, when all the boys is having holiday, but he
hates work more than he hates anything else, and I ve _got_ to do some
of my duty by him, or I ll be the ruination of the child.
[*] Southwestern for afternoon
Tom did play hookey, and he had a very good time. He got back home
barely in season to help Jim, the small colored boy, saw next-day s wood
and split the kindlings before supper at least he was there in time
to tell his adventures to Jim while Jim did three-fourths of the work.
Tom s younger brother (or rather half-brother) Sid was already through
with his part of the work (picking up chips), for he was a quiet boy,
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