Her stepmother stood beside her with a young baby in her arms,
but when she saw what held the gaze of the child she drew her
away, saying: "We mustn't look, Waitstill; your father don't like
it! "
"Who was the big man at the head, mother? "
"His name is Jacob Cochrane, but you mustn't think or talk about
him; he is very wicked."
"He doesn't look any wickeder than the others," said the child.
"Who was the man that fell down in the road, mother, and the
woman that knelt and prayed over him? Why did he fall, and why
did she pray, mother?"
"That was Master Aaron Boynton, the schoolmaster, and his wife.
He only made believe to fall down, as the Cochranites do; the way
they carry on is a disgrace to the village, and that's the reason
your father won't let us look at them."
"I played with a nice boy over to Boynton's," mused the child.
"That was Ivory, their only child. He is a good little fellow,
but his mother and father will spoil him with their crazy ways."
"I hope nothing will happen to him, for I love him," said the
child gravely. "He showed me a humming-bird's nest, the first
ever I saw, and the littlest!"
"Don't talk about loving him," chided the woman. "If your father
should hear you, he'd send you to bed without your porridge.
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