"Love never spoiled anybody," I protested, "and it won't spoil him either."
"No," conceded Gordon, "but he mustn't be indulged too much. I believe in making them obey—and not giving in to them; that old adage about sparing the rod, you know."
"He shan't ever be touched," I exclaimed; "nobody shall ever lay a finger on my baby."
"Our baby," corrected Gordon, smiling.
"But about what you said about the rod," I resumed. "You don't surely mean——"
"Don't let us get excited, dear," and Gordon smiled down at me; "but of course children, and especially boys, must be taught to obey. That's one of the great advantages of a public school."
"He shan't ever go to a public school," I declared warmly. "No child of mine will ever be sent with a lot of common children—in one of those big schools."
"What will you do with them?" said Gordon, intensely interested.
"I'll teach them myself," said I. "I'll teach them together; I'll keep them together all the time. There's no influence on a boy like his little sister."
By this time Gordon was just as absorbed in them both as I was. "You can train the girl the way you like," he said, stroking my hair while he spoke; "that's a mother's privilege—but I'll have to take a hand with the boy. And I'm a firm believer in punishing them, when they need punishment."