One afternoon the children walked together into the village; Puggy wanted to invest in some putty which he liked to get at the carpenter's shop. He was wonderfully ingenious with his fingers, and modelled all kinds of queer articles from a bit of clay or putty. Christina wanted to get a glimpse of Susy. She knew that she was still in the village, for her father had not been well, and Christina was always afraid that they would go off suddenly, without wishing her good-bye.
As they came up to the outskirts of the village, Christina's quick eyes spied out the hawker's cart and horse standing outside an empty barn.
"Oh, I believe Susy is in the barn," she exclaimed, and then stopped short in terror, for a child's frantic cries rang out:
"Oh, dad, you're killing me! Help! Help! Let me go!"
A shriek of agonizing pain followed.
"He's drunk and he's beating her," announced Puggy.
Like a small whirlwind Christina dashed into the barn. Susy was crying for help, and Susy was in danger. Those two facts were enough for her. She flung herself between Susy and her father and seized her little friend by the arm.
"You're killing her! Stop it!" she cried with blazing eyes.
But the hawker was mad with drink. He had the butt end of his whip in his hand and was belabouring his small daughter most cruelly. Her forehead was cut and bleeding and one of her arms hung by her side as if it were broken. When Christina came in his way, in blind rage he struck out at her and felled her to the ground. Then he seemed to realize what he had done; flinging his whip from him, he staggered out of the barn and stumbling up into his cart drove off, leaving Christina unconscious on the ground and Susy kneeling by her side.
Puggy came in and stood for a moment not knowing what to do.