"An' does he—does he ever whip yer?" asked Maggie.
In spite of the pain in her heart, Helen smiled. "No—never."
"Our dad gits mad, too, sometimes," said Bobby. "But, gee! he ain't never like that. Dad, he wouldn't care if somebody just looked into our yard. We wasn't a-hurtin' nothin'—just a-lookin'—that's all. Yer can't hurt nothin' just a-lookin', can yer?"
"I am sorry," said Helen.
"Be yer happy?" asked Maggie, suddenly, with disconcerting directness.
"Why!" replied Helen, "I—What makes you ask such a funny question?"
Maggie was too much embarrassed at her own boldness to answer, and
Bobby came to her rescue.
"She wants to know because the Interpreter, he tole us about a princess what lived in a castle an' wasn't happy 'til the fairy told her how to find the jewel of happiness; an' Mag, here, she thinks it's you."
"And where did the princess find the jewel of happiness?" asked Helen.
Little Maggie's anxiety to help overcame her timidity and she answered precisely, "On the shores of the sea of life which was not far from the castle where the beautiful princess lived."