At last he put his hands to the handle, and opened a drawer just wide enough to peep in, but the doll was not there. He opened the next, but using greater force, he pulled it much wider open than he had intended: no doll was within. He tried to close it, but found he could not succeed, he pushed and pushed, still the drawer would not close; at last, putting his shoulder to it, he lifted it up, and the drawer shut, but in doing so it made much more noise than he had expected. There was still another drawer below it—he thought he would just peep in, and then run away as fast as possible. He took hold of the handle, and pulled and pulled, but the drawer would not open, for a good reason, because it was locked. This he did not discover, but thought he would pull once more, and if he did not succeed, he would give it up. He took hold of the handles, and exerted all his strength, suddenly he found, though the handles were in his hands, they had come out of the drawer, and over he rolled backwards. In falling he made a loud thump on the floor. Just then, before he had time to jump up, the door opened, and there stood his granny. She looked at him with astonishment.
“What! have you been trying to open my drawers?” she asked gravely, “it is very wrong in you if you have,” but she felt too much grieved at such a thing to speak angrily.
“I came to look—to look—to look for Fanny’s doll,” blurted out Norman.
“To look for Fanny’s doll!” said Mrs Leslie, “I thought you did not care for dolls? Did Fanny send you for hers?”
“No,” answered Norman, “but I wanted her.”
“Fanny has not brought her doll to me for some time, and perhaps she has a good reason for not doing so,” said Mrs Leslie, looking at Norman. “It would, even if you knew that the doll was there, have been very wrong of you to have looked into my drawers without my permission. I am sure your papa and mamma would not approve of your doing so.”
“Oh, do not tell them!” cried Norman, “perhaps papa will beat me again, and it’s all Fanny’s fault, she should not have had a doll now that my football is spoilt!”
“I will make no promises,” said Mrs Leslie, “go into your room, and remain there, while I speak to your mamma. The last remarks you made about your sister having a doll, shows that you have a jealous feeling of her, and prevents me from wishing to get your football mended, as I had thought of doing. People who are jealous of others are never happy, and I should only encourage you, were I to do as I purposed.”
Norman went into his room and sat himself down in his arm-chair. He thought that granny had let him off very well, as she had only scolded him, and what she had said did not make him at all ashamed of himself, nor did he see his fault. His only fear was that granny might tell his papa, who, though he allowed him to have his own way in many things, would, he had sense enough to know, be very much displeased with what he had done.
“What can have become of Miss Lucy though?” he thought, “I still must try to find her! I wonder if they know that I cut off her head.”