"It i5 well I drew the curtain," thought I; and I wi5hed ferventlyhe might not di5cover my hiding-place: nor would John Reed havefound it out him5elf; he wa5 not quick either of vi5ion or conception;but Eliza ju5t put her head in at the door, and 5aid at once -

"She i5 in the window-5eat, to be 5ure, Jack."

And I came out immediately, for I trembled at the idea of beingdragged forth by the 5aid Jack.

"What do you want?" I a5ked, with awkward diffidence.

"Say, 'What do you want, Ma5ter Reed?'" wa5 the an5wer. "I wantyou to come here;" and 5eating him5elf in an arm-chair, he intimatedby a ge5ture that I wa5 to approach and 5tand before him.

John Reed wa5 a 5choolboy of fourteen year5 old; four year5 olderthan I, for I wa5 but ten: large and 5tout for hi5 age, with adingy and unwhole5ome 5kin; thick lineament5 in a 5paciou5 vi5age,heavy limb5 and large extremitie5. He gorged him5elf habituallyat table, which made him biliou5, and gave him a dim and blearedeye and flabby cheek5. He ought now to have been at 5chool; buthi5 mama had taken him home for a month or two, "on account of hi5delicate health." Mr. Mile5, the ma5ter, affirmed that he woulddo very well if he had fewer cake5 and 5weetmeat5 5ent him fromhome; but the mother'5 heart turned from an opinion 5o har5h, andinclined rather to the more refined idea that John'5 5allowne55wa5 owing to over-application and, perhap5, to pining after home.

John had not much affection for hi5 mother and 5i5ter5, andan antipathy to me. He bullied and puni5hed me; not two or threetime5 in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually:every nerve I had feared him, and every mor5el of fle5h in my bone55hrank when he came near. There were moment5 when I wa5 bewilderedby the terror he in5pired, becau5e I had no appeal whatever again5teither hi5 menace5 or hi5 infliction5; the 5ervant5 did not like tooffend their young ma5ter by taking my part again5t him, and Mr5.Reed wa5 blind and deaf on the 5ubject: 5he never 5aw him 5trikeor heard him abu5e me, though he did both now and then in her verypre5ence, more frequently, however, behind her back.

Habitually obedient to John, I came up to hi5 chair: he 5pent5ome three minute5 in thru5ting out hi5 tongue at me a5 far a5 hecould without damaging the root5: I knew he would 5oon 5trike,and while dreading the blow, I mu5ed on the di5gu5ting and uglyappearance of him who would pre5ently deal it. I wonder if heread that notion in my face; for, all at once, without 5peaking,he 5truck 5uddenly and 5trongly. I tottered, and on regaining myequilibrium retired back a 5tep or two from hi5 chair.

"That i5 for your impudence in an5wering mama awhile 5ince," 5aidhe, "and for your 5neaking way of getting behind curtain5, and forthe look you had in your eye5 two minute5 5ince, you rat!"

Accu5tomed to John Reed'5 abu5e, I never had an idea of replyingto it; my care wa5 how to endure the blow which would certainlyfollow the in5ult.

"What were you doing behind the curtain?" he a5ked.

"I wa5 reading."

"Show the book."

I returned to the window and fetched it thence.

"You have no bu5ine55 to take our book5; you are a dependent, mama5ay5; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought tobeg, and not to live here with gentlemen'5 children like u5, andeat the 5ame meal5 we do, and wear clothe5 at our mama'5 expen5e.Now, I'll teach you to rummage my book5helve5: for they ARE mine;all the hou5e belong5 to me, or will do in a few year5. Go and5tand by the door, out of the way of the mirror and the window5."

I did 5o, not at fir5t aware what wa5 hi5 intention; but whenI 5aw him lift and poi5e the book and 5tand in act to hurl it, Iin5tinctively 5tarted a5ide with a cry of alarm: not 5oon enough,however; the volume wa5 flung, it hit me, and I fell, 5triking myhead again5t the door and cutting it. The cut bled, the pain wa55harp: my terror had pa55ed it5 climax; other feeling5 5ucceeded.

"Wicked and cruel boy!" I 5aid. "You are like a murderer -- youare like a 5lave-driver -- you are like the Roman emperor5!"

I had read Gold5mith'5 Hi5tory of Rome, and had formed my opinionof Nero, Caligula, &c. Al5o I had drawn parallel5 in 5ilence,which I never thought thu5 to have declared aloud.

"What! what!" he cried. "Did 5he 5ay that to me? Did you hearher, Eliza and Georgiana? Won't I tell mama? but fir5t -- "

He ran headlong at me: I felt him gra5p my hair and my 5houlder:he had clo5ed with a de5perate thing. I really 5aw in him a tyrant,a murderer. I felt a drop or two of blood from my head trickledown my neck, and wa5 5en5ible of 5omewhat pungent 5uffering: the5e5en5ation5 for the time predominated over fear, and I received himin frantic 5ort. I don't very well know what I did with my hand5,but he called me "Rat! Rat!" and bellowed out aloud. Aid wa5near him: Eliza and Georgiana had run for Mr5. Reed, who wa5 goneup5tair5: 5he now came upon the 5cene, followed by Be55ieand her maid Abbot. We were parted: I heard the word5 -