e pain."

Sibyl looked full at him then.

"Are you laughing at me?" she said, and she jumped down from her high
chair.

"I would not dream of doing so."

The curious amused expression died out of Lord Grayleigh's eyes. He
somehow felt that he was confronting Sibyl's father with all those
unpleasant new scruples in full force.

"Speak away, little girl," he said, "I promise not to laugh. I will
listen to you with respect. You are an uncommon child, very like your
father."

"Thank you for saying that, but it isn't true; for father's perfect,
and I'm not. I will tell you now why I was rude, and why I am going to
be rude again, monstrous rude. It is because you told lies."

"Indeed!" said Lord Grayleigh, pretending to be shocked. "Do you know
that that is a shocking accusation? If a man, for instance, had said
that sort of thing to another man a few years back, it would have been
a case for swords."

"I don't understand what that means," said Sibyl.

"For a duel; you have heard of a duel?"

"Oh, in history, of course," said Sibyl, her eyes sparkling, "and one
man kills another man. They run swords through each other until one of
them gets killed dead. I wish I was a man."

"Do you really want to run a sword through me?"

Sibyl made no answer to this; she shut her lips firmly, her eyes
ablaze.

"Come," said Lord Grayleigh, "it is unfair to accuse a man and not to
prove your accusation. What lies have I told?"

"About my father."

"Hullo! I suppose I am stupid, but I fail to understand."

"I will try and 'splain. I didn't know that you was stupid, but you do
tell lies."

"Well, go on; you are putting it rather straight, you know."

"I want to."

"Fire away then."

"You told someone--I don't know the name--you told somebody that my
father was unscroopolus."

"Indeed," said Lord Grayleigh. He colored, and looked uneasy. "I told
somebody--that is diverting."

"It's not diverting," said Sibyl, "it's cruel, it's mean, it's wrong;
it's lies--black lies. Now you know."

"But whom did I tell?"

"Somebody, and somebody told me--I'm not going to tell who told me."

"Even suppose I did say anything of the sort, what do you know about
that word?"

"I found it out. An unscroopolus person is a person who doesn't act
right. Do you know that my father never did wrong, never from the time
he was borned? My father is quite perfect, God made him so."

"Your father is a very nice fellow, Sibyl."

"He is mu