In an instant the baby's parents were to the rescue, and Tom was declaring his innocence to the united family.
'It fell out itself!' he repeated; and soon he began to think of interesting details. 'I saw it. It put its hand on the edge of the cradle and pulled up, and then it leaned to one side, and then the cradle toppled over.'
Of course the preposterous lie was credited by nobody.
'There's one thing!' said Mrs. Knight, weeping for the second time that morning. 'I won't have him christened with a black forehead, that I won't!'
At this point, Aunt Annie, who had scurried to the kitchen for some butter, flew back and anointed the bruise.
'It fell out itself!' Tom said again.
'Whatever would the minister think?' Mrs. Knight wondered.
'It fell out itself!' said Tom.
Mr. Knight whipped Tom, and his Aunt Annie put him to bed for the rest of the day. In the settled opinion of Mrs. Knight, Tom was punished for attempting to murder her baby. But Mr. Knight insisted that the punishment was for lying. As for the baptism, it had necessarily to be postponed for four weeks, since the ceremony was performed at the Great Queen Street Chapel only on the first Sunday in the month.