Page:Zodiac stories by Blanche Mary Channing.pdf/316

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Capricornus, the Goat
299

Presently the Herr looked up.

"Send your little lad out to play a while," he said, nodding towards the door. "I have something to say to you both."

Hansel went out, and walked beyond ear-shot, like the honest little fellow he was.

But he did not feel like play. He sat down under a tree, and wondered what was happening in the hut. He could not help thinking that they were talking about him. He began to feel frightened without knowing why. It seemed as if a long time passed.

Then Carl Myers called him, and he went slowly in, and saw that his mother's eyes were red.

"Get your Sunday suit on, Hansel," said his father. "You are to go to the city with the Herr."

"Mother!" said the boy, looking at her with appeal in his pale face.

"Yes, dearest heart," she said, trying to