"Ah," he said, "my teacher was—was unfortunate. He taught me to play the first part of that tune. He would have taught me the rest of it—if he had had time."
Horatio drew the bow lightly across the strings and began to sing, in a far-away voice:—
"Oh, there was an old man, and his name was Jim,
And he had a pet bear who was fond of him;
But the man was very cruel and abusive to his pet,
And one day his people missed him, and they haven't found him yet."
"Oh!" said Bo; "and w-what happened, Horatio?"
Horatio paused and dashed away a tear.
"It happened in a lonely place," he said, chewing reflectively, "a lonely place in the woods, like this. We were both of us tired and hungry and he grew impatient and beat me. He also spoke of my parents with disrespect, and in the excitement that followed he died."
"Oh!" said Bo.
"Yes," repeated Horatio, "he died. He was such a nice man—such a nice fat Italian man, and so good while—while he lasted."
"Oh!" said Bo.
Horatio sighed.