"'I've bin a bad father to you, my poor gel,' he says.
"An' I says, 'No, dad, not when you were out o' drink.'
"An' 'e says to me the last night afore he died: 'I'm askin' to be forgiven my sins all the time along, do 'ee think I shall be 'eared?'
"An' I says, 'Sure to be, dad, 'cause the Bible says so'; an I readed 'im a tex' off the 'orsepital wall,—
"'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;—'
"An' then he puts his 'ead down on the piller with a groan, 'Ay, Lord, ha' mercy; Lord, ha' mercy!'
"An' nurse told me 'e never spoke no more!"
"Oh," said Christina, mingling her tears with Susy's, "do let's come to Miss Bertha; she will make us feel happy."
And so Miss Bertha did. She talked to them both about the beautiful home above, and how sinful men and women were received there for the sake of their Saviour. She pictured the meeting between Susy's father and mother, and how glad her mother would be to hear about her little daughter. And then changing the subject, she sent them both out to the kitchen to help Lucy make some hot cakes for tea. Later on she told Christina about her visit to the Bollands.
"My dear old friend was so glad to have me with her, and I think I was able to cheer her up a little. She said you had comforted her so much, Childie, by giving her your verse to think of. I was so glad to hear it."