"No. She knows Uncle Nick would hit her."
"What did you do all summer?"
"Helped Cora. Then, when she was drunk, I went in the park. Sometimes I slept there."
Mrs. Lowell shook her head. "I'm glad your uncle brought you this time."
"Cora wouldn't stay. They had the worst fight of all. They were always fighting."
"Bertie, dear," said Mrs. Lowell tenderly, "try to know all the time that God is taking care of you and leading you. We know He will. Uncle Nick must know it, too, sometime."
"Know what?" exclaimed the boy with a start.
"That God takes care of His children. Your uncle is one, and I am one, and you are one. We shall have to keep some secrets from Uncle Nick until he grows kinder and knows that the only way to be happy is to love. I should like to know your mother's people."
"Uncle Nick says they're all dead."
"Do you know their name?"