"Does it require you to walk so fast, Anak?"
"Excuse me, Robert; I'm always forgetting."
"The manager has less trouble in keeping Madame Leonora in," said Robert.
"That's true; she's too fat to walk much. She weighs more than I do, though she's two feet shorter."
They had drawn out of the village, and got into the comparatively open country among the farms. They were talking of one subject and another, when suddenly their attention was drawn to a small boy who was running towards them in terror and dismay.
"What's the matter?" asked Robert, his sympathy quickly aroused; "are you hurt?"
"No," answered the boy, slackening his speed, "but Mr. Tarbox is going to whip Jimmy."
"And who is Jimmy?"
"Jimmy's my brother."
"And what have you been doing?"