followed the trail of Black
Sheep's delinquencies. For weeks and weeks, in order to escape
banishment from the book-shelves, he had made a fool of Aunty Rosa, of
Harry, of God, of all the world. Horrible, most horrible, and evidence
of an utterly depraved mind.

Black Sheep counted the cost. "It will only be one big beating, and
then she'll put a card with 'Liar' on my back, same as she did before.
Harry will whack me and pray for me, and she will pray for me at
prayers and tell me I'm a Child of the Devil and give me hymns to
learn. But I've done all my reading and she never knew. She'll say she
knew all along. She's an old liar, too," said he.

For three days Black Sheep was shut in his own bedroom--to prepare his
heart. "That means two beatings. One at school and one here. That one
will hurt most." And it fell even as he thought. He was thrashed at
school before the Jews and the hubshi, for the heinous crime of
bringing home false reports of progress. He was thrashed at home by
Aunty Rosa on the same count, and then the placard was produced. Aunty
Rosa stitched it between his shoulders and bade him go for a walk with
it upon him.

"If you make me do that," said Black Sheep very quietly, "I shall burn
this house down, and perhaps I'll kill you. I don't know whether I can
kill you--you 're so bony--but I'll try."

No punishment followed this blasphemy, though Black Sheep held himself
ready to work his way to Aunty Rosa's withered throat, and grip there
till he was beaten off. Perhaps Aunty Rosa was afraid, for Black
Sheep, having reached the Nadir of Sin, bore himself with a new
recklessness.

In the midst of all the trouble there came a visitor from over the
seas to Downe Lodge, who knew Papa and Mamma, and was commissioned to
see Punch and Judy. Black Sheep was sent to the drawing-room and
charged into a solid tea-table laden with china.

"Gently, gently, little man," said the visitor turning Black Sheep's
face to the light slowly. "What's that big bird on the palings?"

"What bird?" asked Black Sheep.

The visitor looked deep down into Black Sheep's eyes for a half a
minute, and then said suddenly: "Good God, the little chap's nearly
blind."

It was a most business-like visitor. He gave orders, on his own
responsibility, that Black Sheep was not to go to school or open a
book until Mamma came home. "She'll be here in three weeks, as you
know of course," said he, "and I'm Inverarity Sahib. I ushered you