As the man spoke he grasped the boy by the coat collar with one hand and with the other plied a thin rubber cane with no gentle force to every portion of Toby's body that he could reach.
Every blow caused the poor boy the most intense pain; but he determined that his tormentor should not have the satisfaction of forcing an outcry from him, and he closed his lips so tightly that not a single sound could escape from them.
This very silence enraged the man so much that he redoubled the force and rapidity of his blows, and it is impossible to say what might have been the consequences had not Ben come that way just then and changed the aspect of affairs.
“Up to your old tricks of whipping the boys, are you, Job?” he said, as he wrested the cane from the man's hand and held him off at arm's length, to prevent him from doing Toby more mischief.
Mr. Lord struggled to release himself, and insisted that, since the boy was in his employ, he should do with him just as he saw fit.
“Now look here, Mr. Lord,” said Ben, as gravely as if he was delivering some profound piece of wisdom, “I've never interfered with you before; but now I'm going to stop your game of thrashing your boy every morning before breakfast. You just tell this youngster what you want him to do, and if he don't do it you can discharge him. If I hear of your flogging him, I shall attend to your case at once. You hear me?”
Ben shook the now terrified candy vender much as if he had been a child, and then released him, saying to Toby as he did so, “Now, my boy, you attend to your business as you ought to, and I'll settle his accounts if he tries the flogging game again.”
“You see, I don't know what there is for me to do,” sobbed Toby, for the kindly interference of Ben had made him show more feeling than Mr. Lord's blows had done.
“Tell him what he must do,” said Ben, sternly.
“I want him to go to work and wash the tumblers, and fix up the things in that green box, so we can commence to sell as soon as we get into town,” snarled Mr. Lord, as he motioned toward a large green chest that had been taken out of one of the carts, and which Toby saw was filled with dirty glasses, spoons, knives, and other utensils such as were necessary to carry on the business.