‘Well, now, tell me,’ said Miss Ophelia, ’have you taken anything else since you have been in the house?  If you confess I won’t whip you.’

‘Laws, missis, I took Miss Eva’s red thing she wears on her neck.’

‘You did, you naughty child!  Well, what else?’

‘I took Rosa’s ear-rings—­them red ones.’

‘Go and bring them to me this minute—­both of them.’

‘Laws, missis, I can’t—­they’s burnt up.’

‘Burnt up?  What a story!  Go and get them, or I shall whip you.’

Topsy began to cry and groan, and declare that she could not.  ’They’s burnt up, they is.’

‘What did you burn them up for?’ asked Miss Ophelia.

‘Cause I’s wicked, I is.  I’s mighty wicked, anyhow.  I can’t help it.’

Just at this minute Eva came into the room wearing her coral necklace.

‘Why, Eva, where did you get your necklace?’ said Miss Ophelia.

‘Get it?  Why, I have had it on all day,’ answered Eva, rather surprised.  ’And what is funny, aunty, I had it on all night too.  I forgot to take it off when I went to bed.’

Miss Ophelia looked perfectly astonished.  She was more astonished still when, next minute, Rosa, who was one of the housemaids, came in with a basket of clean clothes, wearing her coral ear-rings as usual.

I’m sure I don’t know what to do with such a child,’ she said, in despair.  ’What in the world made you tell me you took those things, Topsy?’

’Why, missis said I must ’fess.  I couldn’t think of nothing else to ‘fess,’ said Topsy, wiping her eyes.

‘But of course, I didn’t want you to confess things you didn’t do,’ said Miss Ophelia.  ‘That is telling a lie just as much as the other.’

‘Laws, now, is it?’ said Topsy, looking surprised and innocent.

‘Poor Topsy,’ said Eva, ’why need you steal?  You are going to be taken good care of now.  I am sure I would rather give you anything of mine than have you steal it.’

Topsy had never been spoken to so kindly and gently in all her life.  For a minute she looked as if she were going to cry.  The next she was grinning as usual in her ugly way.

What was to be done with Topsy?  Miss Ophelia was quite puzzled.  She shut her up in a dark room till she could think about it.

‘I don’t see,’ she said to Mr. St. Clare, ’how I am going to manage that child without whipping her.’

‘Well, whip her, then.’

‘I never heard of bringing up children without it,’ said Miss Ophelia.

’Oh, well, do as you think best.  Only, I have seen this child beaten with a poker, knocked down with the shovel or tongs, or anything that came handy.  So I don’t think your beatings will have much effect.’

‘What is to be done with her, then?’ said Miss Ophelia.  ’I never saw such a child as this.’

But Mr. St. Clare could not answer her question.  So Miss Ophelia had to go on, as best she could, trying to make Topsy a good girl.