Ill? No, he was not ill, he declared; and oh, how he longed to unburden his heart to his uncle! But he shrank from doing so. And, saying he was tired, remarked he thought he would go to bed early, which he accordingly did.
The clocks in the house struck many times before he was able to get any sleep, so tormented was he by his guilty conscience and the fear that the sharp-looking children next door were beginning to have suspicions respecting him. And when at last slumber overcame him, and he fell into a troubled doze, he was confronted in his dream by a vision of Kitty Glanville, her blue eyes full of angry tears, whilst in a voice shrill with accusation, she cried, "Ah, I've found you out now! It is you who killed my rabbit."
[CHAPTER III.]
KITTY INTERVIEWS TIM.
"I'VE spoken to Tom Hatch about getting you another rabbit," Bob informed his sister on the afternoon subsequent to the one on which they had found her late pet dead. "And he says he believes his brother will be able to let you have one, for his doe had young a few weeks back, and he wants to get rid of them all before leaving the place."
The Hatch boys were schoolfellows of Bob's, who were about to leave the place with their parents to take up their abode in a neighbouring town. Kitty had purchased the rabbit, which had come to such an untimely end, from Tom for a shilling, and was very desirous to replace it.
"Will he be willing to sell me another for the same price?" she inquired practically.
"Oh, yes," was the response. "You may be sure of that."
"And will it be a white Angora like the other?"
"I suppose so; he didn't say; you needn't have it if you don't fancy it, you know. I think we had better move the hutch closer to the house, near to the back door."