"Mercy upon us! Let it out at once!"
"We can't; it is dead."
"Dead? You wicked boys! Did you kill it?"
"Oh, Aunt Marcia," cried Louise before Carl could reply, "they had to do it, indeed, indeed they did! It was hurt; some boys shot it with a toy pistol, and it was dreadful; so we bought some chloroform and Ikey killed it because he knew how, and now they are sitting on the box to make sure!"
Horrified and astonished, Mrs. Hazeltine surveyed her young relatives in silence.
"Why couldn't you have James do it?" she inquired at length.
"He has taken the horses to be shod."
"Where is Zélie?"
"Gone to Chicago with Cousin Helen."
"Well, Louise must go in at once, and may I inquire how long it will be necessary for you to sit on that box in this damp place?"