Kitty's enemy

by Eleanora H. Stooke

"To me that seems the worst part of the business," said Mr. Shuttleworth gravely. "But I think the lie brought its punishment, judging by the distress of mind I found Tim in to-night; I do not believe he will so easily give way to temptation again. I am afraid he has exhibited himself to you all in a very bad light in this matter, but I assure you he is sincerely repentant, and if your little girl and boy can find it in their hearts to forgive him and continue to be his friends, I shall be truly glad."

"I shall explain everything to Kitty and Bob," Mrs. Glanville replied, "and I am sure they will not be harsh in their judgment of Tim. Poor Tim! I must have a little talk to him myself."

Mrs. Glanville kept her word, and the following morning, whilst her children were at school, she made a point of seeing Tim and speaking to him as gently and sympathetically as his own mother would have done under such circumstances, pointing out to him that the fact of his having given way to his passionate temper and having sought revenge had brought about the death of an innocent creature, and had thus led him into further sin. No more was to be said on the subject, she told him, but she hoped he had learnt a lesson he would never forget.

"And Kitty and Bob?" Tim asked falteringly. "I suppose they won't be friends with me any longer now?"

"Oh, yes, indeed I hope they will," Mrs. Glanville replied. "You are going to entertain them on Saturday, you know. Had you forgotten that?"

"No," Tim answered in a low tone. "But I thought—I was afraid that they might not care to come. What did they say, Mrs. Glanville, when they heard it was I who overturned the hutch?" he inquired with considerable anxiety.

"Of course they were greatly astonished, but neither of them believe you meant to injure the rabbit; they know you are not in the least cruel. Kitty was hurt because you had told her a falsehood and Bob was incredulous at first—it seems he had formed a very high opinion of your sense of honour and truth."

Tim's cheeks burnt with shame on hearing this, and he wondered if he would ever be able to restore Bob's faith in him again. Well was it for him that he had not heard the words in which Bob had remarked on his conduct; he would have greeted his visitors on Saturday even more nervously than he did, had he known that it was to their mother he owed their having kept their appointment. For they had been justly indignant against the boy next door, who, as Kitty had taken care to point out, had acted the enemy's part, at least on one occasion, and by his own confession had proved that she had not been far from the truth after all.

But Kitty and Bob were kind-hearted children, and it was not in their natures to harbour resentment against any one for long; so that when Tim, rather falteringly, put forward the plan for making a tent in the back garden, they agreed to it cordially, and set to work with a will, and by the aid of a clothes' prop for a centre pole and several old wrappers, they managed to erect a kind of awning under which they decided they would have their tea.

"Won't Mr. Shuttleworth have tea with us?" asked Kitty, when Deborah arrived with the tea-things, which were placed on a small gipsy table inside the tent. "There's only room for two chairs, but he can have one, can't he?"