“O no, mamma! It’s the cannon I’m shivering at. It made the house shiver. What makes them have it so awful loud?”
“So as to be sure and make everybody hear, Laurens.”
“I think a bugle would be better, mamma.”
“So do I, my boy, but I suppose Mr. Schwarmer doesn’t.”
“I’m afraid of Mr. Schwarmer, mamma. He gave Benny Horton something that blew his eye out last Fourth.”
“So am I, my boy. Fireworks are not fit for little boys to handle. They smell bad, they are bad, dangerous and noisy.”
She was rubbing his white satiny skin with her soft hands. She stopped short and added:
“If he ever offers you any, you will refuse to take them, and you will tell him what mamma says about them, won’t you darling?”
He threw his arms around her neck and kissed her.
“Yes, mamma, I will. You don’t want your little boy to have his eyes put out, do you?” he said pathetically.