Ben strode out into the yard.
"Do you know what time it is? You're nearly an hour late! Who have you got there?"
"It's Cass, Pa."
"What an earth's happened to her?"
"We found her this way."
They told him what had happened and showed him the child's injuries. Ben's face darkened with horror, disgust and disbelief.
"Alright, give her to me."
"No, Joe! I want Joe!"
"Joe'll be right here, honey. I need to look at you, take care of you."
"I want Joe!"
Ben had to literally pull Cass off his son. He laid her face-down on the sofa and examined her stripes. "Any man who does this to a child should be strung up. He's worse than an animal."
Scamp nodded. "She's such a tiny little thing, Pa."
"Scamp, go and get her something to wear, the smallest thing you've got. It'll still be far too big for her but at least she'll be warm and covered up until we can get her some proper clothes. She'll have to have a bath first, she's encrusted with dirt. Hop Sing? Ointment for these welts!"