"Now who told you that this house belonged to Bertie?"
"Long ago," said Daffy softly, "Nurse told us that Bertie was much more important than us, because, if Daddy died, this house would belong to him."
"You haven't waited long to take advantage of your father's death," said Mrs. Harrington, rather bitterly.
Freda and Daffy hung their heads in shame.
"Now pay attention to me," their mother continued, in her slow quiet tones; "this house does not belong to Bertie till he is twenty-five years old. It belongs to me till then, and I forbid you to ask any one to stay in it unless you have my permission. Until you understand the Bible better, you are not to act out its precepts without asking grown-up people if it is right for you to do so. I believe there is a verse about heaping coals of fire on your enemy's head. Do you think you ought to do that?"
"I feel I would like to do it to Nurse," said Freda, with emphasis. In imagination she saw Nurse's cap and hair in flames, and considered it would serve her right.
"Exactly. You don't understand that a great deal of the Bible is figurative language."
"What is that, Mums?"
"Oh, I can't explain," said Mrs. Harrington, yawning. Then she roused herself to speak sternly. "That old tramp decamped with a good many valuable articles of ours. You put temptation in his way, and if the door had not been locked outside, he would have stolen much more. Who did that?"
"I locked the door, Mums," said Freda.