Zach stood in his corner for almost an hour before he heard his new father return. His bottom was hot and throbbing, the skin aflame. He longed to reach back and soothe the burn but dared not. Now that he heard his father return, his stomach knotted with fear. The strap across his tender bottom? It was impossible. He couldnt bear it. Maybe his father would relent.
But when he saw Don enter, and the thick piece of leather n his right hand, the hope quickly faded. The strap wasnt very long, maybe 12 inches or so, but it had 2 tails and it looked frightening to a six-year-old unused to a boys proper discipline.
"Please, sir, I cant -" Zach started.
"Be quiet and come here. You know the procedure. Over my lap. Quickly now."
The boy started crying again but that had no effect on his father. Don sat on the chair as before and the boy climbed onto his knees. Once more a pair of small boy buttocks presented itself before Don, only this time they were a bit worse for wear. Don did not concern himself with the light bruising but, holding the boy fast, he raised the tawse and whipped it sharply across the boys thighs.
He expected the boy to cry out, of course, but still was surprised at the loud howl that emanated from a wide-open mouth. The tawse seemed to have the desired effect, he thought, and whipped the strap down again, even more vigorously than before, across the lower, bruised bottom. Zach screeched with the pain. He kicked his legs but this did not impede the accuracy of the strokes that followed.
As he had with the spanks, the strap fell deliberately and precisely across the lower half of the buttocks and upper parts of the thighs with several seconds pause between each. The boy squirmed and writhed at each slap as he bellowed out his pain, but Don continued, unperturbed, punishing the small cheeks alternating between left and right.
Downstairs, the housekeeper Madeline, stopped dusting for a moment to listen to the din from upstairs. She shook her head. That adopted boy must be quite a handful, she thought. Luckily, the master knew how to handle such boys. Her usual quiet home would now be disturbed by a noisy little brat. She was glad the master would teach him proper behavior right from the start. She had no sympathy for unruly little boys and felt severe punishment was always necessary to rear them into well-behaved young men.
Don kept at it, disregarding the boys wails or the discolouring of the childs bottom. The tawse was very effective even with light flicks to the right areas, but Don did not believe in light flicks. He believed in unmitigated severity, no matter how young the culprit. And so Zach, held securely, was getting his bottom whipped as never before. The boy felt as if this would never end. His throat was sore from screaming and after some time he just lay there, limp and trembling, emitting only soft moans and whimpers. This was what Don was waiting for. It showed the boy had accepted his punishment and should know that it was well deserved. But it was too early to stop. In order for the spanking to have its full value, it should be continued well after the child had accepted its fate and took the whipping in silence.
So Don wielded that cruel little tawse for several minutes more while young Zach lay motionless, only his body jumping and twitching at each stroke.
"Very well, my boy," Don announced at last, "this will be enough for now. Just be sure not to forget that sir in the future or I will be harder on you than today. Be grateful I am letting you off this easily. It will not happen again."
Don put down the strap and lifted the weeping child off his lap, standing him on his feet before him. He looked at the tear-stained, contorted face and smiled. Yes, that was the way a boy should look after a sound spanking. Contrite and ashamed, anxious to to obey in order to avoid a repetition of this punishment. Of course the boy would not be able to avoid further punishments in the near future. Don would see to that.
"Pull your shorts up and come with me," Don said tersely and the sobbing boy obeyed with alacrity.
The rest of the day was spent having the boy memorise the rules and learn the layout of the large house. He was told which rooms he may enter without permission and which he was forbidden. He was introduced to Madeline in the kitchen as she was preparing lunch.
"Madeline, this is my adopted son, Zachary. He is a stubborn little brat so if he misbehaves, let me know but feel free to discipline him whenever needed. I have a feeling that it will be needed quite frequently but will the decision to you."
"Yes, sir," Madeline smiled. He was a plump woman in her mid-forties with greying hair. "May I avail myself of your instruments for boys education?"
"Certainly. They are all kept in the cupboard in my study and you may use any one of them. Just keep in mind that the boy is only six and that perhaps the senior cane might be slightly excessive at this age."
Madeline laughed. "I dont think I will have to resort to that yet," she said, looking down at the miserable-looking boy who was hold his bottom with both hands as he listened to their conversation. "Although I might have to use the junior cane if he is really naughty."
"By all means," Don agreed, "but I suggest you stick with the tawse, even the heavy one if necessary, for most of his little offenses during the day. Next week Dr. Hauptman will start as the boys tutor and I have a feeling that young Zach will be without his shorts for most of the tuition sessions."
Madeline nodded. "As all boys should be," she said with conviction. I remember when my brother was around 10 or 11. He got the cane regularly across his bare backside from his father and his teachers. His bottom was never free of thick welts. But he learned to behave properly towards his parents and me. He knew that I only had to hint to my parents that Freddy - thats my brothers name - did not behave and he would be thrashed that same afternoon when our father returned from work. I was usually a witness to his punishments so I know a little about what they should be like."
"I have instructed Dr. Hauptman to be quite strict with the boy. He is still young and now is the time to mold his behaviour and character. There is nothing better than the cane to accomplish that and Dr. H. firmly believes in the cane. In view of Zachs age, however, I have persuaded him to stick with the tawse for the normal mistakes in his school work and reserve the junior cane only for the more serious offenses."
"You are being very lenient with the boy," Madeline said, her eyes on the seat of the boys tight shorts. "His bottom and thighs look strong enough for the cane right now, it seems to me. He is quite tall for his age."
"That is true, however lets not rush things. We have to measure our penalties gradually, depending on how quickly he learns. Of course if he is stubborn, I may have to resort to the cane earlier, but until then, I will make do with the tawses. Some of them are quite effective even for big boys of 12 or 13. You can make them howl even at that age with the heavy two-tailed tawse. It is really quite a severe instrument of discipline."
"As it should be," Madeline muttered. "No use cuddling boys of that age."
"Zach is to learn the rules today, so starting tomorrow, you will deal with any infractions. I want the boy to play outdoors for an hour or two every morning and afternoon, regardless of weather. You will have him change into his P. E. singlet and shorts and supervise his running and other exercises. I dont want him cooped up indoors all day. Just have him finish all his chores and then send him outside. After Dr. Hauptman arrives, the boy will have less time, but he will have to make time for those hours of exercise in the fresh air."
"Very well, sir," Madeline said, "I will see to it that he gets them."
"Now please show the boy the chores he has to perform and what he can expect if he is lazy or careless."
The rest of the day Zach was made to wash dishes and dry them, sweep the floors, clean the bathroom and generally run any errands Madeline set him. Each movement produced deep pain in his buttocks and thighs but he was kept at his work by Madeline who had retrieved one of the tawses Don kept in his cupboard. She made the boy jump with quick lashes across his bare legs or across his sore bottom and he tried very hard to please her. But his mind was mostly on the new tutor. Somehow he knew he was not going to like that man,