Page:On Our Selection.djvu/73

Rh "Eh?" Dad said, completely winded—"Eh?" Then to Dave, when he got some breath:

"Well, you are an ass of a fellow. (Puff!) What th' devil did y' run f?"

"Wot did I run f'? Wot did you run f?"

"Bah!" aud Dad boldly led the way back.

"Now look here (turning fiercely upon Joe), don't you come catching hold of me again, or if y do I'll knock y'r dd head off! . . . Clear home altogether, and get under the bed if y'r as frightened as that."

Joe slunk behind.

But when Dad did approach Jack, which was n't until he had talked a great deal to him across a big log, the latter did n't show any desire to take life, but allowed himself to be escorted home and locked in the barn quietly enough.

Dad kept Jack confined in the barn several days, and if anyone approached the door or the cracks he would ask:

"Is me father there yet?"

"Your father's dead and buried long ago, man," Dad used to tell him.

"Yes," he would say, "but he's alive again. The missus keeps him in there"—indicating the house. And sometimes when Dad was not about Joe would put his mouth to a crack and say:

"Here's y'r father, Jack!" Then, like a caged beast, the man would howl and tramp up and down, his eyes starting