er if she had lost her ears. Mother
said she had n't. "Then why the devil could n't y' hear me singin'
out?" Mother thought it must have been because Dan was playing the
concertina. "Oh, DAMN his concertina!" Dad squealed, and kicked Joe's
little kitten, that was rubbing itself fondly against his leg, clean
through the house.

Dan found the selection pretty slow--so he told Mother--and thought he
would knock about a bit. He went to the store and bought a supply of
ammunition, which he booked to Dad, and started shooting. He stood at
the door and put twenty bullets into the barn; then he shot two bears
near the stock-yard with twenty more bullets, and dragged both bears
down to the house and left them at the back-door. They stayed at the
back-door until they went very bad; then Dad hooked himself to them and
dragged them down the gully.

Somehow, Dad began to hate Dan! He scarcely ever spoke to him now, and
at meal-times never spoke to any of us. Dad was a hard man to
understand. We could n't understand him. "And with DAN at home, too!"
Sal used to whine. Sal verily idolised Dan. Hero-worship was strong
in Sal.

One night Dad came in for supper rather later than usual. He'd had a
hard day, and was done up. To make matters worse, when he was taking
the collar off Captain the brute tramped heavily on his toe, and took
the nail off. Supper was n't ready. The dining-room was engaged. Dan
was showing Sal how the Prince of Wales schottische was danced in the
huts Out Back. For music, Sal was humming, and the two were flying
about the room. Dad stood at the door and looked on, with blood in his
eye.

"Look here!" he thundered suddenly, interrupting Dan--"I've had enough
of you!" The couple stopped, astonished, and Sal cried, "DAD!" But
Dad was hot. "Out of this!" (placing his hand on Dan, and shoving
him). "You've loafed long enough on me! Off y' go t' th' devil!"

Dan went over to Anderson's and Anderson took him in and kept him a
week. Then Dan took Anderson down at a new game of cards, and went away
West again.

Chapter XV.

Our Circus.

Dave had been to town and came home full of circus. He sat on the
ground beside the tubs while Mother and Sal were washing, and raved
about the riding and the tumbling he had seen. He talked
enthusiastically to Joe about it every day for three weeks. Dave rose
very high in Joe's estimation.

Raining. All of us inside. Sal on the sofa playing