"Well, are you glad to get away from Peg?" asked John Somerville,
giving Ida a seat at the fire.
"Oh, _so_ glad!" said Ida.
"And you wouldn't care about going back?"
The child shuddered.
"I suppose," said she, "that Peg will be very angry. She would beat
me, if she should get me back again."
"But she sha'n't. I will take good care of that."
Ida looked her gratitude. Her heart went out to those who appeared
to deal kindly with her, and she felt very grateful to her companion
for his instrumentality in effecting her deliverance from Peg.
"Now," said Somerville, "perhaps you will be willing to tell me what
it was you were required to do."
"Yes," said Ida; "but she must never know that I told. It was to
pass bad money."
"Ha!" exclaimed her companion. "Do you mean bad bills, or spurious
coin?"
"It was silver dollars."
"Does she do much in that way?"
"A good deal. She goes out every day to buy things with the money."
"I am glad to learn this," said John Somerville, thoughtfully.
"Ida," said he, after a pause, "I am going out for a time. You will
find books on the table, and can amuse yourself by reading; I won't
make you sew, as Peg did," he said, smiling.
Ida laughed.
"Oh, yes," said she, "I like reading. I shall amuse myself very
well."
Mr. Somerville went out, and Ida, as he recommended, read awhile.
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