Casey slept in the barn that night. He slept in it the next night, too.
He did n't believe in shifting from place to place, so he stayed with us
altogether. He took a lively interest in the selection. The house, he
said, was in the wrong place, and he showed Mother where it ought to have
been built. He suggested shifting it, and setting a hedge and ornamental
trees in front and fruit trees at the back, and making a nice place of it.
Little things like that pleased Mother. "Anyway," she would sometimes say
to Sal, "he's a useful old man, and knows how to look after things about
the place." Casey did. Whenever any watermelons were ripe, he looked
after THEM and hid the skins in the ground. And if a goanna or a crow
came and frightened a hen from her nest Casey always got the egg, and when
he had gobbled it up he would chase that crow or goanna for its life and
shout lustily.
Every day saw Casey more at home at our place. He was a very kind man,
and most obliging. If a traveller called for a drink of water, Casey
would give him a cup of milk and ask him to wait and have dinner. If
Maloney, or old Anderson, or anybody, wished to borrow a horse, or a dray,
or anything about the place, Casey would let them have it with pleasure,
and tell them not to be in a hurry about returning it.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145