Julia at once ran towards the barn, as fast as she could go; and Sue followed her. When they entered the barn, Johnny was stroking the kitten, and trying to get her to drink some of the milk in the saucer, which was placed close by her mouth; while the kitten made no effort to drink, but only continued the faint, pitiful cries. Mr. Le Bras, Oliver, and Felix were standing near,—Felix with his hands behind him, and a very sober, perplexed look upon his face.
As soon as Julia and Sue saw the poor, emaciated object, Julia screamed, and Sue turned away and began to cry. Then Julia began to cry bitterly, and exclaimed,—
"Oh, dear! my beautiful little kitten! She's dying! She's been dreadfully treated! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! What shall I do!"
Mrs. Le Bras, who was sitting in the veranda, heard the wailing, and ran out to the barn in a great fright. She was followed by Mary and Kate. When the full group were collected about the kitten, its cries were quite drowned in the chorus of lamentation.
"I shall have to take the part of a physician for this patient," said Mr. Le Bras finally: "I prescribe perfect quiet, to begin with. We must leave the kitten wholly alone, for at least an hour: it will be much more likely to notice the milk, and recover appetite for it, if its attention is not distracted elsewhere. Come, let us all go; and you, Oliver, shut the barn-door after us, and fasten it. Felix can go to his room, and stay until supper-time. After supper is over, he can go to the parlor with me, and we will hold court."
Julia then ran home, without saying another word; she ran into the room where her mother was sitting, threw herself on the floor by her side, buried her face in her lap, and began to cry quite hysterically; so that Mrs. Peterson would have been at a sad loss to know the cause, if Sue had not followed close behind Julia.
"Why, the kitten's found, 'most dead and starved," said Sue, who was still wiping her eyes. "It's just as little as nothing, except its head, and that looks awfully big,—I guess because it's about all that's left; and it's crying and crying, and can't drink the milk; and Felix must be to blame about it, 'cause father's going to hold court with him after supper; and I never saw Felix look half so sober before, so I expect he's awfully to blame, somehow."
"I knew he and Jack did it," sobbed Julia; "and he went and lied about it! If that kitten dies, I'll never speak to him again as long as I live! I don't believe I'll speak to him anyhow! He is one of the hatefulest boys that ever lived! I thought he was going to be better than he was last year; but this is just as mean,—and meaner, too, than the things he used to do last year. I hate boys, anyway!—all except Johnny."
Felix came down to supper with a very long face. The meal proceeded with unusual gravity and silence all around. As yet, the kitten had not touched the milk, and her death was expected at any time. Sue had reported Julia to have gone to bed early with a headache. After supper, Felix followed his uncle into the parlor. When the testimony in the case was all in, and Felix had made his defence, Mr. Le Bras proceeded with his argument for the opposite side, and for truth and right-doing in general, and then, as judge, pronounced the extent of Felix's guilt, and proceeded to the sentence.
"Now, Felix," said he, "if it were Johnny who were deserving punishment, and we were at home, I should, very likely, forbid his reading or studying for a certain number of days, which would be a great punishment for him; but, in your case, it seems to me that study is a punishment, and yet it is something for your good. I always endeavor, in punishing my children, to deny them something, or have them do something, which will be of some use to them besides the punishment. When I tell Johnny he must not read for a week, I do it partly because I know a pause in his reading, and more exercise and open air in consequence, will be for his good. So, in my previous sentence regarding you, I proposed that you should read an hour a day for the summer, because it would be a punishment in the first place, and yet would improve you very much, and give you a habit which would soon be a great pleasure as well as profit to you."