the cork, then jab the needle right through and no mistake, and then tie the thread in a knot." She tilted her head, presenting the sacrificial ear. An adorable ear, Jimmy thought, pink and curving like a shell.
"I wish you'd not given me the ear with the little drop of blood oozing," he said. "It seems so awful cruel to stick it again."
"Do as I tell you," she ordered, clenching her hands and setting her teeth.
Jimmy took the ear tenderly between his finger and thumb. A tremor of fear shook his sturdy frame.
"Pinch it," she commanded. He pinched it, getting very red about his own ears.
"Now stick the needle through, where the drop o' blood is."
Gingerly he pressed the point of the needle against the wound.
"Ouch!" she cried, throwing him a glance of anguish. "Get it through, quick!"
With a groan he jabbed the needle through the delicate flesh and drew the thread after it. She was white, she looked faint. The dark red drops trickled into his palm.
"Is it done?" she asked shakily.
"Yes," he muttered. He tied the thread and went and sat down on the window-sill.
"What ails you?" she asked.
"I'm not feeling well."
"You don't mean to say that wee drop of blood upset you?"
"It was your blood, Delight."
A smile trembled on her lips, her eyes filled with tears. "Jimmy!" she said gently. "I do like you, I do." But she took the needle and placed it in his hand. "Now, do the other," she commanded.
