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 out of his head, while Joe would
bolt inside and tell Mother that "Jack's getting out,", and nearly send
her to her grave.
But one day Jack DID get out, and, while Mother and Sal were ironing came
to the door with the axe on his shoulder.
They dropped the irons and shrank into a corner and cowered piteously--too
scared even to cry out.
He took no notice of them, but, moving stealthily on tip-toes, approached
the bedroom door and peeped in. He paused just a moment to grip the axe
with both hands. Then with a howl and a bound he entered the room and
shattered the looking-glass into fragments.
He bent down and looked closely at the pieces.
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