Norman Vallery Part 10

"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 f.a.n.n.y'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 wis.h.i.+ng 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."

He was allowed to remain in his room till he heard f.a.n.n.y, who had done her lessons, calling to him. She invited him to have a game before dinner on the lawn.

When there, she produced from under her pinafore a trap and bat.

"Papa brought this yesterday in his pocket and gave it to me that I might play with you."

f.a.n.n.y put it down on the ground.

"What a strange looking thing," exclaimed Norman, "what are we to do with it?"

"I will show you," said f.a.n.n.y, putting the ball into the trap and taking the bat in her right hand. "Now keep a little behind me, and I will force the ball up, then I will hit it with the bat and send it up into the air to a distance."

f.a.n.n.y, very adroitly, made the ball fly nearly across the lawn.

"You observe where it fell; now go there and try and catch it, and if you do so you will get me out, and you will have the right to come and play at the trap till I put you out. Or, if you roll the ball up and hit the trap you put me out."

f.a.n.n.y played for some time, but at last, finding that Norman could not catch the ball nor roll it against the trap, thought that he would become impatient, and she hit it only a little way. He ran up, and without discovering that she did this to please him, soon managed to roll the ball against the trap.

"Ah, I have put you out at last, Miss," he exclaimed, "and now you shall see where I send the ball to, you had better go to the other side of the lawn, and try and catch me out if you can!"

Norman seized the bat, looking as if he was going to do great things, and f.a.n.n.y went, as he desired her, to a distance.

The first time he struck the trap he upset it, and the ball tumbled down by his side. Again and again he tried to hit the ball, but always missed it, and it sometimes scarcely rose out of the cup.

"What a stupid bat this is," he exclaimed, losing patience, "I wonder you could manage to make the ball jump out of it."

"All you want is patience and practice," answered f.a.n.n.y, "try and try again, I do not mind looking out for you?"

Norman made a few more attempts, with equal want of success.

"You have done something to the trap I am sure, or I should be able to hit the ball," he cried out.

"Nonsense!" said f.a.n.n.y laughing, "it is entirely your own fault, strike the tail more gently and keep your eye on the ball, you will be able to hit it."

Once more he tried, but instead of hitting the trap more gently, Norman used greater force, and consequently upset it, and looking to see what had happened, instead of keeping his eyes on the ball, the latter in falling hit him slightly on the head; this was enough for him, and when f.a.n.n.y, laughing, was coming up to him, altogether losing his temper he threw the bat at her with all his force. It fortunately missed her head, but striking her on the shoulder hurt her very much.

"O Norman, how could you do that!" she exclaimed, seizing him by the arm. "I was only going to show you how to use the bat, and you might have killed me," she said, naturally feeling very angry with him. "You naughty, naughty boy!"

Norman lifted up his fist as if about to strike her, f.a.n.n.y seized his other arm, he struggled to free himself. At that moment Mrs Vallery came out of the house.

"What are you children about?" she asked. "f.a.n.n.y my dear, what are you doing to your little brother?"

"She was laughing at me," cried out Norman, "and because I was angry, she is pinching me all over."

"Indeed, I am not," said f.a.n.n.y, and though an instant before she had felt very angry with Norman, having overcome the feeling, she did not like to say that he had thrown the bat at her.

"I laughed at him, mamma, merely because he missed the ball so often, and when I came near him he wanted to hit me."

"And I did hit you," cried Norman, "and I will hit you again if you laugh at me," and again he struggled to get free.

"My dear f.a.n.n.y, you should have more consideration for your little brother," remarked Mrs Vallery, coming up to them.

f.a.n.n.y let go her hold of Norman, who gave a vicious kick out at her as she did so, and ran to his mamma's side.

Poor f.a.n.n.y felt inclined to cry at the rebuke she had received, and yet she would not excuse herself by saying what Norman had done. That young gentleman, considering he had gained a triumph, shouted out--

"Now you may go and play by yourself, I do not want to have anything more to do with the stupid trap and bat."

"It is very ungrateful in you to say that, Norman, after your papa brought it down expressly for you," said Mrs Vallery. "Stay and play on, and try if you cannot do better; and, f.a.n.n.y, let me ask you not to laugh at the little fellow if he does not manage to hit the ball as often as you do."

"I will gladly stop and play with Norman, and promise not to laugh at him," answered f.a.n.n.y, ever ready to forgive, though, as she moved her arm, she felt much pain.

"Will you try again, Norman, and let me show you how you may hit the ball?" she said gently.

Norman sulkily consented, and their mamma, thinking that he was reconciled to his sister, returned to the house.

f.a.n.n.y again set to work to show her brother how he ought to strike the trap, and in a short time, by following her directions, he was able to send the ball some distance. He now, highly delighted, kept her running about in all directions. Her arm hurt her too much to enable her to catch the ball, and though she might frequently have rolled it back against the trap and put him out, seeing how much amused he was she refrained from doing so.

"We will have another game by-and-by," he exclaimed, as they were summoned to dinner, and he went in highly pleased with his performance, and ready to boast about it, but he entirely forgot the injury he had done to poor f.a.n.n.y.

They had another game in the afternoon, though f.a.n.n.y could with difficulty play.

When she was putting on her frock in the evening to go down to dessert, Susan observed that her shoulder was very black.

"What have you done to your shoulder, Miss f.a.n.n.y?" she asked; "I must put something to it."

f.a.n.n.y had to confess that Norman had thrown the bat at her, but begged Susan not to scold him.

"I cannot promise, Miss, not to do that," she answered, "I am so angry with him. He is a regular little tyrant. Trusty knows it, if n.o.body else does, for, from the day the young gentleman came into the house he has kept away from him, and I think he ought to be whipped for many other things besides telling stories."

f.a.n.n.y again pleaded in her usual way for her young brother, though she could not help confessing to herself that Susan was right.

At dessert f.a.n.n.y sat next to her grandmamma, but her hurt shoulder was turned away from her and was towards Norman, who saw the black mark and remembering how it must have been caused, was in a great fright all the time he was eating the dish of strawberries his papa gave him, lest some one else would discover it. It might possibly have prevented him from enjoying his dessert as much as he otherwise would have done. Their mamma was sitting opposite, and saw the mark, but thought it was a shadow cast on f.a.n.n.y's shoulder, and thus no one said anything on the subject.

Norman congratulated himself when he and f.a.n.n.y went up to bed, that his violent act had escaped detection. Susan, however, who had undertaken to put him to bed, asked him how he had dared to strike his sister in the way he had done.

"I did not strike her, she held my arms and pinched me too much for that."

"What do you call throwing a bat at her and hitting her with it, then?"

asked Susan.