“No, papa, ’course not. Big men don’t tell things.”
His father did not take comfort from this braggart wisdom. He groaned:
“That two little children should have such a secret to keep!”
“Just what is the secret we’re to keep, papa?”
“Nothing!”
“How can we keep it, then, papa!”
“Never speak to anybody about Jud Lasher—never say his name—never think of it.”
“All right, papa. I p’omise.”
He could not speak the word, but he accepted the pledge.
The top of the hill was almost as high as the crest of the big tulip tree, and as they descended to its level the tree seemed to grow upwards above them.