Williams interrupted. "You're going to make a
clean breast of this whole affair and take the consequences.
You're going to tell it and tell it ALL. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you tell me how Georgie Bassett fell down the cellar
steps--and tell me quick!"
"He--he was blindfolded."
"Aha! NOW we're getting at it. You begin at the beginning and
tell me just what you did to him from the time he got here.
Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Go on, then!"
"Well, I'm goin' to," Sam protested. "We never hurt him at all.
He wasn't even hurt when he fell down cellar. There's a lot of
mud down there, because the cellar door leaks, and--"
"Sam!" Mr. Williams's tone was deadly. "Did you hear me tell you
to begin at the beginning?"
Sam made a great effort and was able to obey.
"Well, we had everything ready for the 'nishiation before lunch,"
he said. "We wanted it all to be nice, because you said we had to
have him, papa, and after lunch Penrod went to guard him--that's
a new part in the rixual--and he brought him over, and we took
him out to the shack and blindfolded him, and--well, he got kind
of mad because we wanted him to lay down on his stummick and be
tied up, and he said he wouldn't, because the floor was a little
bit wet in there and he could feel it sort of squashy under his
shoes, and he said his mother didn't want him ever to get dirty
and he just wouldn't do it; and we all kept telling him he had
to, or else how could there be any 'nishiation; and he kept
gettin' madder and said he wanted to have the 'nishiation
outdoors where it wasn't wet and he wasn't goin' to lay down on
his stummick, anyway.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107