Elsie was beginning to explain, but Adelaide stopped her, saying she had no time to listen, and hastily quitted the room.

Elsie brushed away a tear and took up her book again—­for she had been engaged in preparing a lesson for the next day, when interrupted by this unexpected visit from her aunt.

Adelaide went directly to her brother’s door, and receiving an invitation to enter in answer to her knock, was the next instant standing by his side, with Miss Allison’s letter in her hand.

“I’ve come, Horace,” she said in a lively tone, “to seek from you a reward of virtue in a certain little friend of mine; and because you alone can bestow it, I come to you on her behalf, even at the expense of having to confess a sin of my own.”

“Well, take a seat, won’t you?” he said good-humoredly, laying down his book and handing her a chair, “and then speak out at once, and tell me what you mean by all this nonsense.”

“First for my own confession then,” she answered laughingly, accepting the offered seat.  “I received a letter this morning from my friend, Rose Allison, enclosing one to your little Elsie.”

He began to listen with close attention, while a slight frown gathered on his brow.

“Now, Horace,” his sister went on, “though I approve in the main of your management of that child—­which, by the way, I presume, is not of the least consequence to you—­yet I must say I have thought it right hard you should deprive her of Rose’s letters.  So I carried this one, and offered it to her, assuring her that you should never know anything about it; but what do you think?—­the little goose actually refused to touch it without papa’s permission.  She must obey him, she said, no matter how hard it was, whenever he did not bid her do anything wrong.  And now, Horace,” she concluded, “I want you to give me the pleasure of carrying this letter to her, with your permission to read it.  I’m sure she deserves it.”

“Perhaps so; but I am sure you don’t, Adelaide, after tampering with the child’s conscience in that manner.  You may send her to me, though, if you will,” he said, holding out his hand for the letter.  “But are you quite sure that she really wanted to see it, and felt assured that she might do so without my knowledge?”

“Perfectly certain of it,” replied his sister confidently.

They chatted for a few moments longer; Adelaide praising Elsie, and persuading him to treat her with more indulgence; and he, much pleased with this proof of her dutifulness, half promising to do so; and then Adelaide went back to her room, despatching a servant on her way to tell Elsie that her papa desired to see her immediately.

Elsie received the message with profound alarm; for not dreaming of the true cause, her fears at once suggested that he probably intended putting his late threat into execution.  She spent one moment in earnest prayer for strength to bear her trial, and then hastened, pale and trembling, to his presence.