He pulled off the paper from the picture book, which he put into her hands, never doubting but that she would admire it. She glanced at it with a darkening face.
"A baby's book!" she exclaimed scornfully. "The idea of a boy your age wasting money on such a book as this! Your grandfather should have known better than to let you!"
"I bought it for May," faltered Billy. "It all pictures—pictures of birds. She loves birds, so I thought she'd be pleased—"
"Oh, it's for May, is it?" Mrs. Brown broke in, with a sudden change of tone. "That alters the case. She'll be pleased, of course, and—and it was good of you to remember the poor child, Billy."
She had never spoken to Billy so cordially before.
[CHAPTER X.]
SPRING.
THE bird picture book proved indeed a great joy to May, as Billy had thought it would, and many were the hours she spent poring over it during the long winter days when bad weather kept her indoors. She was quick to learn the names of the pictured birds she did not already know by sight, and eager to find out all about them. The Vicar could give her more information than anyone else. All she learnt from him she repeated to Billy.
After Christmas Billy attended the village school. He was in better health now, and far less nervous in every way. The distressing dreams which had haunted his sleep for so many weeks disturbed him no longer. "'Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night,'" he reminded himself if he awoke in the darkness; whilst morning and evening he prayed Tom Turpin's prayer, "'Be not Thou far from me, O Lord,'" and felt it was answered.
It was a dragging winter, and a cold spring. With the lengthening days came a spell of severe frost which lasted for weeks, when no work could be done on the land. Mrs. Brown fussed because her husband was obliged to be idle, but he was not in the least disturbed.