And serve her right, too, said Tom. A woman should not undertake to
nurse a tender little child without knowing what is good and what is bad
for it.
Bill Starkey, continued John, did not mean to frighten his brother
into fits when he dressed up like a ghost and ran after him in the
moonlight; but he did; and that bright, handsome little fellow, that
might have been the pride of any mother's heart is just no better than
an idiot, and never will be, if he lives to be eighty years old. You
were a good deal cut up yourself, Tom, two weeks ago, when those young
ladies left your hothouse door open, with a frosty east wind blowing
right in; you said it killed a good many of your plants.
A good many! said Tom; there was not one of the tender cuttings that
was not nipped off. I shall have to strike all over again, and the worst
of it is that I don't know where to go to get fresh ones. I was nearly
mad when I came in and saw what was done.
And yet, said John, I am sure the young ladies did not mean it; it
was only ignorance.
I heard no more of this conversation, for the medicine did well and sent
me to sleep, and in the morning I felt much better; but I often thought
of John's words when I came to know more of the world.
20 Joe Green
Joe Green went on very well; he learned quickly, and was so attentive
and careful that John began to trust him in many things; but as I have
said, he was small of his age, and it was seldom that he was allowed to
exercise either Ginger or me; but it so happened one morning that John
was out with Justice in the luggage cart, and the master wanted a
note to be taken immediately to a gentleman's house, about three miles
distant, and sent his orders for Joe to saddle me and take it, adding
the caution that he was to ride steadily.
55