"Millie," the veiled man protested, that night, "you didn't ought to fool the boy."
"It don't matter, Poddle," said she. "And I don't want him to feel bad."
"You didn't ought to do it," the man persisted. "It'll make trouble for him."
"I can't see him hurt," said the woman, doggedly. "I love him so much. Poddle, I just can't! It hurts me."
The boy was now in bed. "Mother," he asked, lifting himself from the pillow, "when will I die?"
"Why, child!" she ejaculated.
"I wish," said the boy, "it was to-morrow."
"There!" said the woman, in triumph, to the man. "He ain't afraid of death no more."
"I told you so, Millie!" the man exclaimed, at the same instant.
"But he ain't afraid to die," she persisted. "And that's all I want."