My name is Beverly Braun. Im eleven years old. Mummie says I must always say Im eight cos mummie is only twenty seven. She has been twenty seven almost as long as I can remember. When I ask if people dont grow one year older every birthday she laughs. She says artists dont Beverly. When they get to thirty they start going back wards. So I suppose mummie got to thirty three years ago. I dont mind cos I like haveing a young and pretty mummie. I get lots of uncles and they give me things.
And one of my uncles was shot dead the other day.
Mister Pratt who is a very nice policeman told me I would have to talk to a judge soon. And that is why Im writeing this all down. In case I dont remember everything when I talk to the judge.
I better begin at the beginning. When daddy went away to be a soljier we were very poor and mummie and I lived in a tiny apartment in New York with Anna. Anna is kind of a servant although she isent a servant cos she eats meals with us and shes a Sweed. Shes awful old and she nursed daddy when he was a baby in Sweeden. She doesnt smell very nice. When daddy went away he said yull look after them wont you Anna. And she cried a lot and said wild horses wouldent drag her away from her precious darlings.
And so there was Anna all the time and always scolding mummie about my uncles and for spoiling me saying I was far to knowing for my age. Which seems like a good thing to me cos no one can know to much.
Mummie is a singer and she sings lovely. She looks like an angle when she sings. She dident use to sing when daddy was home but after he went and we were poor she said to Anna Id better start in again and make some money. And Anna said no dont you can have all my money.
But mummie did any how.
At least she tried to and uncle Frank tried for her. Uncle Frank knows all about the places where people sing. But it wasent any good and I heard uncle Frank say to mummie honey you just arent corny enough. And mummie cried a bit and uncle Frank said he would lend her 100 dollars. But mummie said no shed rather take it from any one but him. I dont understand this. Uncle Frank is a friend of daddys and he wanted to marry mummie before she married daddy. He is very nice and not stern like daddy is.
And when I was alone with uncle Frank I started to cry a bit to. I told him I dident get enough to eat. So he gave me five dollars and told me not to tell mummie about it but to buy her a chicken or some candy with it. And I bought a little ring with a green stone in it which the man in the store said was a real emerald. I was going to give it to mummie but it was to small for her. So I dident tell her or Anna about it. I just kept it in my most secret hiding place with my green necklace which I sort of found once and a gold compact which one of mummies friends gave me once. At least I think she was going to give it me. There was another one in her bag. And I figgered she couldent use two very well.
And so we went on being very poor. I had to wear my best dress to school on weekdays and I dident have any best dress at all. Then one day uncle Frank came to take mummie and me to the movies. And I cried and said I couldent go in my dirty old dress. And next day uncle Frank sent me two new dresses. Mummie scolded me about it at first and then laughed and said you have takeing ways darling. And Anna frowned and said like mother like daughter.
And then one day mummie got a telegram to say that daddy was missing and probably dead. It was a Sunday morning. Mummie and I were in bed when Anna brought in the telegram. And Anna was crying. Then mummie started to cry so I thought I better cry to. But I couldent cry very much cos if daddy was dead mummie could marry uncle Frank and I would be a bridesmaid at the wedding. Besides daddy wasent kind to me and once he wipped me cos I borrowed a watch from a girl at school. She said I wasent going to give it back to her. Which was silly cos the watch dident even work. But daddy wipped me with a hairbrush and the bristly side to. And he said if I ever borrowed anything else hed send me to a reform school for ten years. And mummie came in and said if you lay a hand on Beverly Ill leave you. And he said you get the hell out of here or Ill take the brush to you. But he couldent cos it was broken. And mummie dident leave him although I hoped she would.
And so to cheer mummie up after the telegram I said never mind you can marry uncle Frank now. And she said what an awful thing to say. And I cant marry for a year any how. Well just have to go on being poor unless I can get a job.
And Anna said I was a wicked child to be so hartless about the best father that ever breathed.
We were very poor then. But it was fun cos I had lots of uncles and parties and movies. And I dident have to rite letters to daddy every week cos there was no place to send them to. So instead I wrote stories which I like writeing much better. And I hid them in my secret place. And my uncles offen brought me candy and things. And when Anna was out mummie sometimes let me stay up till after eleven. And once I had some wine called sham pain but I dident like it much and it gave me a prickly feeling in my nose.
It was uncle Joe who brought the sham pain and he was the oldest uncle I ever had. He was bald and had a mustash which was almost white. And I dident like him much. But mummie said I was to be very polite to him cos he owned some theaters and he was going to pay her a lot to sing in one of them.
And one nite after I was in bed I heard them talking very loud and they were talking about me. So I went and listened a bit. And I heard uncle Joe say yull have to send the kid away to school. And mummie said Beverly goes with me or I wont go to your old Philadelphia. And uncle Joe said well if you think the work is such a disgrace I dont see why you want the kid hanging around. And mummie said pray god she wont know what kind of work it is. Nor Anna either. And he said well you wanted work dident you and you wouldent want to waste that figure. And then used a word Id never heard about what mummie was going to do in his theater. And he said it was no disgrace. But art.
I cant remember the word now. But I looked it up in a dictionery. It meant to mock or mimick. So I knew mummie was going to mock or mimick in Philadelphia. And she thought it some sort of disgrace and prayed god I wouldent know about it.
We went to Philadelphia right away. Uncle Joe had got an apartment for us in a great big building near a square where there were lots of children and sailors. It wasent a very big apartment and there were only two bedrooms. But it was very sumptious in chairs and tables and the kitchen was very white and shiny. But it really wasent big enough for uncle Joe to cos he said yull have to squeeze me in when Im in Philadelphia. And mummie started to get colds a lot then and I had to sleep in Annas room so as not to catch them. I dident like that much cos of Annas funny smell. And she was always talking about daddy and what he did when he was a little boy.
Mummie wouldent talk at all about her work so Anna and I had a secret plan. Anna was going to ask mummie what theater she was working at. Then we were going to buy tickets and sit in the very front row and clap very loud when mummie mocked and mimicked. And then we were going to send her some flowers so everyone would think she was the best mocker and mimicker in the whole world. And the evening she was going to work for the first time Anna said that shed like to hear her sing. And we were eating strawberries. Mummie put her fork down and went very white. And she must have guessed our secret plans cos she said dont you dare come near the theater Anna and if you let Beverly come Ill never speak to you again as long as I live. And she got up without eating any of her berries. And Anna said I could have them.
Mummie worked every night except Sunday and sometimes in the afternoon. She must have been awful clever at mocking and mimicking cos we were ever so much richer than we had been in New York. I had real cream with my sereal every day and there were lots of flowers in the house. And mummie must have made lots of new friends cos the telephone was always ringing. It was mostly men and they asked for Trixie.
At first I used to say there wasent anyone called Trixie there cos mummies name is Dorothy. Then I asked Anna about it and she said it was mummies stage name probably. But mummie said we were never to talk to anyone on the phone except uncle Joe or maybe uncle Frank when he called which was nearly every day.
And I had a new pair of shoes with sort of shiny buckles on them and mummie gave me a necklace for my eleventh birthday which might be real pearls if they werent quite so pink. And it was on my eleventh birthday when we met uncle Joe in the street.
Anna and I had gone out to buy a special chicken for dinner and we saw uncle Joe coming out of a jewel shop. He was smiling a lot and he called to Anna and said look at what Ive just bought for a certain little lady. And he pulled a box from his pocket and showed her the most beautiful bracelet of diamonds and real emeralds Ive ever seen. They must have been real cos there was one like it in the window. It cost 500 dollars.
And when uncle Joe saw I was staring at his bracelet he said no peeking little lady. Then he put the box back in his right pocket. He said he was coming to dinner and he wanted to have some of the goolash which Anna makes so well. But Anna said he couldent have goolash cos it was my birthday treat and I had chosen chicken.
I was so excited about the bracelet which uncle Joe had bought for me that I couldent think of anything else except that uncle Joe was the kindest uncle in the world. The bracelet would just go with my ring and I wouldent have to hide it the way I have to hide my ring. I wore my very best dress with white fur on the edges. And Anna spent almost an hour curling my hair and putting pink on my fingernails. There was a cake with eleven candels on it which was going to be a surprise for me. Though I knew all about it any how. But I dident mind much cos I was only thinking about the bracelet.
Uncle Joe came rather late and he seemed sort of funny and talked very loud. He gave me a kiss which smelt funny. Then he said heres a birthday present for a good girl. It was a very big package. I thought he had wrapped up the bracelet so as to make it more fun opening lots of boxes.
I went away all by myself to open the package so I could take a long time and give myself a sort of extra surprise as each box got smaller. But there werent a lot of boxes at all. There was just one box with a silly doll in it. A big fat doll with horrid stringy hair and blue eyes that dident even shut when she lay down. And no underwear.
Surely uncle Joe knew that a grown up girl of eleven dident want a silly doll. I cried a little by myself. And I hated uncle Joe cos he had almost promised me the bracelet from what he said to Anna out side the store in the morning.
Then I started to think how the bracelet almost was like my own and how I wanted to look at it just once more. And there was nothing wrong in that. I remembered uncle Joe had put it in his right pocket so I made a plan. I went into the room where mummie and uncle Joe were drinking and laughing and I climbed on to his knee. And I kissed him and said thank you for the doll which I hated really. And he said so you like your dolly do you.
And while I was hugging him I slipped my hand in to his right pocket where the bracelet was. And he dident notice anything.
I ran out in to the bedroom and opened the package by myself and there it was my beautiful bracelet with real emeralds. I put it on and the diamonds sparkled like stars. Then mummie called me to dinner and I hid the bracelet in my secret place. There was chicken and ice cream and the cake for dinner. But I dident even eat very much. I just wanted to go back and look at my bracelet.
After dinner uncle Joe said poor mummie ought to have a birthday present to. Then he winked at me and said maybe if shed shut her eyes shed have a surprise. Then he put his hand in his pocket while mummie kept her eyes closed.
But of course his pocket was empty.
Uncle Joe swore like anything. Then he ran out in to the hall and looked in his overcoat. But the bracelet wasent there either. And Anna and I helped him look every where in the apartment. Then he said dam it I just have dropped it in the taxi and there goes 500 smackers. So he called up the taxi or someone but they dident help much. And suddenly he said no it couldent have been in the taxi cos the package was in his pocket when he rang the bell of the apartment cos he felt it there.
Then I saw mummie was looking at me in a funny way. She made me go out alone with her into the kitchen. She said Beverly did you steal uncle Joe’s package. And I said no I dident steal the bracelet. And I dident really steal it. I only just borrowed it to look at again. And mummie said sort of sadly how did you know it was a bracelet if you dident take it. Yud better run and look through your things and see or else I will have to come and look through them for you.
And I was a bit scared then cos if mummie went through my things she might find my secret place. So I went in to my room and I got out the bracelet. It looked lovely. But I put it back in the box. Then I hid it under my skirt and I went back in to the living room.
I was going to put it under the couch so it would look like it fell out of uncle Joe’s pocket. But he saw me and ran across the room and snatched the box. And he said you theeving little rat. You took it I knew you did. And he hit me in the face very hard. Then mummie came rushing in and said dont lay a finger on the child. And uncle Joe swore a lot. Then he said Beverly ought to go to prison or to boarding school and by golly shes going before shes a day older. Then Anna came in and saw me crying. And she picked me up and swore at uncle Joe partly in Sweedish and said it was all the wages of sin.
She took me in to the bedroom and brought me another piece of cake which I couldent eat cos there was candel greese all over it. And she said poor baby you like pretty things dont you. Well you shall have my broch which is the only jewelry I have. And she gave me an ugly old broch which she brought over from Sweeden with her. It had an o nix in it which Anna said is a sort of precious stone. Though it isent really. And she said I could sleep in her bed if I was unhappy. And I said no thank you Anna I think Im getting a cold and yud better not catch it.
Later on mummie came in to kiss me goodnite. She must have made friends with uncle Joe cos she was waring the bracelet. She looked pretty as an angle and she said poor baby it was your birthday and dident have any real treet. And I said my bestest treet would be to wear the bracelet just for tonite. So mummie laughed and slipped it off saying alrite just for one nite. But you must never take anything that doesent belong to you again. Never never. And I promised.
After mummie had kissed me goodnite and cried a little more I gave Anna back her old broch. And Anna let me keep on the lite til almost 12 oclock and we talked about all the pretty clothes and jewelry I was going to have when I grew up. And Anna said daddys mummie who was my grandmother in Sweeden had some lovely jewels and she was very pretty and I was just like her.
That was the week before uncle Joe was shot dead. But first of all uncle Frank came down to stay in Philadelphia. He lived in a hotel just near and we had a lot of fun the first day or two though he whispered a lot to Anna and they had a secret which I dident know.
And one nite he came in late before mummie was back from work. I heard him say to Anna good god its worse than I thought. I saw her and weve got to stop it. And when mummie came in I pretended I was going to the bathroom. But really I went and listened a bit. And I heard uncle Frank saying Ill kill Joe Pinker for this. He ought to be ashamed and him with a wife and three kids in the Bronx. And mummie said well its a job and he got it for me and you couldent get me one. Uncle Frank got very mad and said if you call it a job taking all your clothes off in front of people. And mummie said she dident take off all her clothes and it was singing mostly. And he said a little goes a long way or something. Mummie must have been crying cos uncle Frank said dont cry Dot you can always marry me and Ill love you in any case. And mummie said she couldent marry him cos daddy wasent properly dead yet. And uncle Frank said hed stick around any how.
And then Anna came spying on me and made me go back to bed. So I asked her why mummie took off her clothes in front of people. She said hush child and go to sleep.
And next day the misterious thing happened. It was the day that uncle Joe was shot dead. Mummie was out to a rehersal or something. Anna and I were eating lunch in the kitchen when the bell rang. Anna went to the door and dident come back for a long time. When I went to look for her she wasent there or anywhere. And I was sort of scared in case it was a burglar or something. And I looked out of the window. And down in the street on a corner I saw Anna. But she hadent got a hat or coat on.
She was talking to an old man with white hair who Id never seen before. Then after a bit she threw her arms around him and kissed him and he kissed her. And when she came back home she was singing like anything and ever so happy.
I said Anna I believe you got a sweat hart cos I saw you kissing him on the corner. And she said yes hes my old sweat hart come back to his Anna. So I said will you marry him and go away from me. And she said never never darling and she squeezed me so tight something started to creak.
Then she told me that if I was a good girl she would take me to see her sweat hart in his hotel that afternoon. But it was to be a surprise and I musent tell mummie. So I promised.
And before we went she brushed my hair for a long time very hard and she wouldent let me ware the pink pearls mummie gave me or any jewelry. And she took all the red off my fingernails cos she said her friend was sort of old fashioned and dident like makeup on young girls.
Then she told me I was to be very careful not to say anything about her friend looking old or funny cos he had been ill for a long time.
Then we went out into a very crowded street to a little hotel which smelt nasty and then up into a room which smelt nasty to. And there was Annas old man sitting by the window. He jumped up when we came in and took me in his arms saying so this is my own darling little Beverly. And I couldent stop him kissing me though I struggled a bit.
When he put me down he said arent you glad to see your poor old daddy. But I laughed and said you arent my daddy. My daddy was young and hansome with black hair and lots of white teeth. But he kept saying he was my daddy although his teeth were sort of black and they werent all there. And Anna said he is your daddy and the Japs were very crool to him in prison and that’s why he isent young any more.
And I was very polite and said isent it funny that daddy looks older and mummie looks younger all the time and the man who said he was my daddy asked me how would you like to go away with me and Anna baby. And I said if mummie comes to.
Then he started asking me all sorts of questions about mummie and uncle Joe. And he got very stern. And Anna kept saying things to him in Sweedish which I dident understand. And he was mad about something cos he dident kiss me when we left. But he said he was coming to see mummie after dinner tonite but not to tell her cos it was a surprise. And then he said some more to Anna in Sweedish and after that we said goodby.
And Anna cried a bit when I said I dident like my old new daddy much. And she shook her head and said theres murder in his hart and I for one dont blame him if he does. And I asked her what she meant. But she shook her head again and said we must think up some way to stop this. So before we went home she went to uncle Franks hotel. But I dont know what she said to him cos she left me in the lobby. And a kind old gentleman saw me there and said well little girl youre a bit young to be alone in a hotel lobby. And I smiled at him very politely and he gave me an ice cream cone.
It was all awful misterious. I dident know if my daddy who was sort of dead really was this old daddy who had come back. And I dident know what Anna meant by murder in his hart. But I knew what murder is cos Ive seen it lots of times in the movies. And I like murder movies best.
But everything seemed alright that evening. Anna cooked a speshially good dinner and mummie looked lovely in her black dress with the bracelet on. Uncle Joe came to dinner and we had sham pain. And Anna wouldent take any. And she shut her mouth kind of tite when uncle Joe tried to make her.
And then after dinner when mummie went to put on her things to go to the theater the bell rang. I went to the door with Anna and uncle Frank was there. He was all panting. And he said good god Anna hes got a gun and I cant get it from him and hell be up here any minute and all hell will brake lose. And Anna said what shall we do.
Then she looked at me and said Beverly do you want your daddy to go to prison again. And I said well I suppose not.
Then Anna whispered to uncle Frank and he took 5 dollars from his pocket. And Anna said he would give it to me if I would do something for her and uncle Frank.
And I said what is it. And she said do you know what a gun is cos your daddy has got one in his pocket. And I said proudly of course I know what a gun is and I know how to use one cos Ive seen it in the movies. Then she said they would give me 5 dollars if I took the gun from my daddys pocket the same way I took the bracelet from uncle Joe. And I would never be wipped or punished for it.
And I said I would try.
So I waited outside in the hall with uncle Frank until daddy came up the stairs. And when I saw him I put up my arms and said hello daddy. But he dident kiss me or speak to me. He just started talking very fast to uncle Frank. And I remembered how I used to go through my daddys pockets when I was a little girl looking for presents and things. So I pretended to be a little girl and I said have you got a present for me daddy. Then I put my hands in his pocket and there was the gun. It was quite a little one and not a bit heavy. Daddy dident seem to notice me taking it cos he was still talking so fast to uncle Frank.
Then daddy pushed past me into the apartment with his hat on. And I ran to the kitchen and gave Anna the gun. She said thank god for that. And put it in the kitchen drawer of the table with sort of a shiver. And as she shut the drawer I saw someone standing by the door watching her. But I couldent see very well who it was.
Then Anna gave me the 5 dollars and told me to go in to our bedroom and not to come out until I was told to.
So I went in to the bedroom. But I opened the door a little bit so I could hear things. And I heard daddy go stomping into the living room and there were loud voices. Then mummie screamed and said George I thought you were dead, I swear it. And then I heard a bump and uncle Frank’s voice said leave him to me George. Then there was another bump and mummie screamed again. And then Anna went rushing in from the kitchen and said youve killed him George. We must get a doctor.
And after a bit I saw uncle Frank and Anna carrying uncle Joe into mummies bedroom. And there was blood on his face and he was all kind of limp.
Then they went back into the living room and started to talk all at once. And I tiptoed out in mummies room to look at uncle Joe cos I’d never seen anyone dead not even in the movies.
But he wasent dead at all. When he saw me he sat up and started to swear at me. And he said its you you theeving little bastard. Well Im going to have you put in prison along with your mother and the rest of them. Then he tried to sit up on the bed and he looked real scarey with the blood all over his face. So I ran away.
And as I told mister Pratt the policeman I dont know what happened after that. But there was an awful bang. Then uncle Frank came running up to me. He picked me up in his arms and gave me to Anna saying get the kid out of here before the police come. George has shot him.
Then he took some keys from his pocket and gave them to Anna saying quick take her over to my room at the hotel. She’ll be alright there and Ill come over later.
So Anna and I went to uncle Franks hotel. And Anna left me there. It was a lovely big room and there were lots of little bottles which smelt almost as nice as mummies perfumes. And I tried most of them. It was quite fun.
And after a while uncle Frank came in alone and he looked a bit stern for him. He said Beverly theres been a terrible accident and your uncle Joe has been shot dead. And I said oh.
Then he told me that a policeman was coming to talk to me and ask me some questions. And I was to be very careful and tell the truth cos the police thought daddy had done it. But daddy said he hadent.
Then uncle Frank went out and came back with mister Pratt. He is a very nice policeman and quite young like Dick Tracy. And he shook hands very politely with me. Then he said youre quite a girl arent you and that was a fine brave thing you did taking your fathers gun from him. So I suppose Anna or uncle Frank told him about it.
Then he asked me lots of questions about how I was getting along at school and how I liked uncle Joe and which room I slept in. Then I told him all about mummies having colds and how uncle Joe and uncle Frank loved mummie and wanted to marry her. When I saw uncle Frank looking a bit cross I said quickly that uncle Frank was much kinder than uncle Joe and loved mummie ever so much more. And mister Pratt said hum hum.
Then he turned to uncle Frank and said if only George Braun had shot him in the heat of a quarel there isent a jury in the world would send him to prison. And as it is he probably wont get more than a year or so being a war hero and all that.
Then mister Pratt asked me if anyone had been in the kitchen when Anna put the gun in the drawer. And I said there was someone standing by the door but I wasent sure who it was. And he said if it was your daddy that would make it a sinch. And I said I would try to remember who it was.
Then he said thats right try to remember all you can and well have another chat tomorrow. So thats why I am writeing this down so I can remember everything.
And after uncle Frank and mister Pratt had gone Anna came in to sleep with me. But I wasent a bit sleepy. So I made Anna tell me all about what had happened and what the police were going to do.
She told me that they were holding daddy at the police station cos he had said he was in the bathroom when the shot was fired and they dident believe him. And daddy swore he dident do it. He said he dident even know that the gun was gone from his pocket or that it was hidden in the kitchen drawer.
And Anna said that mummie and uncle Frank were in the living room together when the shot was fired. So that gave them something funny which sounded like Ali Baba and which meant that they couldent have done it.
And I asked her where were you Anna. And she looked kind of funny and said I was at the telephone calling a doctor when the gun went off. So I asked her why the police dident think she done it cos she knew where the gun was and she hated uncle Joe any how and wanted him to be dead.
And she said maybe they would accuse her of killing him. And she prayed god she could suffer instead of my daddy who had suffered enough and she was an old woman any how. And she would be glad to go to the electric chair for her George.
And then I told her mister Pratt said daddy would probably only get a year in prison if he did it. And one year wouldent be so bad for him cos hes sort of used to being in prison any how. And Anna said that was a crool way for a daughter to speak.
So I said it isent crool Anna cos if you shot uncle Joe yud be sent to the electric chair. And so would uncle Frank or mummie if they did it wouldent they. And she said yes I suppose so but your mummie and uncle Frank had an Ali Baba any how. Then she looked sort of sad and said probably their Ali Baba wouldent do them any good cos the police know now that uncle Frank was in love with your mummie.
So I said well isent it better for daddy to spend one more year in prison than for anyone else to have to go to the electric chair. But she said to go to sleep.
But I dident go to sleep for hours and hours. I started thinking how mummie or Anna or uncle Frank might be sent to the electric chair. And how awful that would be. And I thought if daddy did it and went to prison for a while mummie could divorse him and marry uncle Frank. Then she wouldent have to take off her clothes in front of people or mock or mimick any more. And I could be bridesmaid at the wedding. And perhaps mummie would give me the bracelet cos she wouldent want to ware it any more now that uncle Joe was dead.
And I thought how glad I was uncle Joe was dead and how scared Id been that he would tell daddy about my borrowing the bracelet. For daddy would have wipped me and sent me to reform school as I knew. But if daddy was in prison for a bit he couldent make me go away to school and uncle Frank and mummie wouldent make me never never.
So I made a secret plan and went to sleep.
And next day mister Pratt came to see me with an old man who was my daddys lawyer or something. And mister Pratt asked me if Id remembered who it was standing by the kitchen door when Anna put the gun in the drawer. I said no I havent remembered who it was but I do remember it was someone with white hair cos I remember seeing white hair as he turned away.
And mister Pratt looked at the lawyer and said that clinshes it cos George Braun was the only one with white hair.
Then the lawyer asked me lots of questions. And I told him how Id seen uncle Joe lying on mummies bed before the shot was fired. And I said that he was swearing and trying to get up. And the lawyer was very excited and said to mister Pratt Ill get Braun to confess and claim self defense and he probably will get off very lightly indeed.
Then they both thanked me very politely and said I was a good girl. And I was to tell the judge everything very truthfully just as I had told them. And I was to try and remember everything I could. So I have been remembering everything and that is why Ive written it all down so as to tell the judge.
But I shant tell the judge about the bracelet and the silly doll. I shant tell the judge what I did after uncle Joe swore at me in mummies bedroom and scared me so by saying hed have me sent to prison.
I shant tell him that I went into the kitchen and got the gun out of the drawer and then went back to mummies room through the bathroom. And I shant tell him that I opened the door a crack and pointed the gun at uncle Joe and then pulled the little thing the way they do in the movies. Or that I dropped the gun and ran back to my room when I heard them coming.
It would be silly to tell the judge all that because they all think daddy did it and daddy will only get a year or maybe two in prison. But if they knew it was me who shot uncle Joe they might send me to the electric chair.
And I wouldent like that.
—A simple child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?
—WORDSWORTH