Benny narrowed his eyes at Rose. "You're so damned weak. Why not? He will come back, do you want to take responsibility for that? A child with no sense of discipline and stubborn enough to not know when to stop, you have to be forceful. Since he won't leave of his own accord and stay away, we need to take other means. I am not hurting him, I am going to get him lost. Unless you really want me to drop him off at the work house? Either way, we have to get rid of him." His annoyance was clear and he started to eye the room for anything he could use to tie up the kid.

Rose glared back at Benny. If she hadn't argued with him because the idea was horrible, she would have argued with him because it was Benny. "I'd rather see him in the workhouse where he gets an education and learns a trade than in a strange city all alone!"

Zechariah, in his joyful rush to banish the tyke to God knows where, neglected to inform the more willing conspirator of where the rope was (mostly because Zechariah, also, did not know where the rope was).

There was a nice velvet curtain with a nice thick silk drawstring, though!

Benny grabbed the boy in one arm and hold him right as he pulled down the curtain's chord. "This will do until I can find something else."

As he used a knee to pin the boy down and tie his hands behind his back he shook his head at Rose. "You think a child this incorrigible would make it in a work house without being beaten? If he is smart, he will find a way to sneak on the next train heading back or will just make a new life in whatever city he can find. "

"He'll have it coming! It's still better than what might happen to him in a big city! Benny, stop!" Rose objected and she tried to pull him off James.

As soon as Rose distracted Benny, James began kicking them.

"Aaaaaaaaaaugh!"

That was to make him sound more intimidating.

Zechariah lifted his head, then his brows ... then his book.

No way he was going back out there now.

Benny winced as one kick struck home on his shin and he nearly kicked the boy back. "Stop it, and you.." He glanced towards Rose. "Shut up! Unless you want to take responsibility for him, I'm doing it my way. I was on the streets as a kid and I turned out fine. Whether its this town or another makes no difference!" He managed to pull the chord and work on the wrists, preparing to tie up his feet next.

"You're out of your mind!" Rose shouted. She hated Benny well enough, but she was absolutely baffled that he was prepared to put a nine-year old on a train to God knows where. "Let me bring him to the workhouse. They keep 'em kids locked up there. He won't bother anyone anymore." Would Claude forgive her? Probably not. Would Claude forgive her if she allowed his little brother to be put on a train and get lost in a big city. Certainly not.

When Benny was working on his wrists, James brought his head down, trying with all his power to bite the young man.