Page:Lefty o' the Bush.djvu/213

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only by the echoing cries of the romping children.

"Tommy, Tommy!" she cried suddenly, "play 'Marching Through Georgia.' Just listen, Mr. Locke; Tommy plays very well for a little fellow. Don't you think so?"

"To tell the truth, I don't, but, if you say so, I'll swear he plays divinely."

"You have a habit of speaking the truth always?"

"It is my intention to follow the practice when possible."

"Do you think a lie is ever excusable?"

"One of the leading divines in the country has said that a harmless white lie is permissible when it shields a friend from truth that would cause pain."

"Do you know there are those who think you were not truthful when you denied that you are Paul Hazelton, of Princeton?"

"I believe that there is one, at least, who thinks so. The doubt in Benton King's eyes was too plain to escape me."

"But you are not Paul Hazelton?'

"I am not. I hope you believe me, Miss Harting."

"I do," she answered. "But I can't understand why they persist in trying to make out that