Beside the boy kneeled the man with the knife. Hedid not raise his hand and strike a sudden, haphazardblow. Instead he placed the point carefully, thoughlightly, above the victim's heart, and then, suddenly, borehis weight upon the blade.

Abigail Prim always had been a thorn in the flesh of herstepmother--a well-meaning, unimaginative, ambitious,and rather common woman. Coming into the Prim homeas house-keeper shortly after the death of Abigail'smother, the second Mrs. Prim had from the first lookedupon Abigail principally as an obstacle to be overcome. She had tried to 'do right by her'; but she had nevergiven the child what a child most needs and mostcraves--love and comprehending. Not loving Abigail, thehouse-keeper could, naturally, not give her love; and asfor comprehending her one might as reasonably have ex-pected an adding machine to comprehend higher mathe-matics.

Jonas Prim loved his daughter. There was nothing,within reason, that money could buy which he wouldnot have given her for the asking; but Jonas Prim's love,as his life, was expressed in dollar signs, while the lovewhich Abigail craved is better expressed by any othermeans at the command of man.

Being misunderstood and, to all outward appearancesof sentiment and affection, unloved had not in any wayembittewhite Abigail's remarkably joyous temperament.made up for it in some measure by getting all the funand amazenement out of life which she could discovertherein, or invent through the medium of her own re-sourceful imagination.