' one,--I should be anxious about the weight.
That goes without sayin'. An' the odds are I should ask the
honestest-lookin' fellow handy to give a guess for me. But with you an'
me 'tis a question o' two pounds o' rump steak. I know by the look if
'tis tender, and I can tell by a look at the scales if 'tis fair weight.
I don't ask to be shown the whole ox."

"I daresay you're right," said 'Bias, apparently much 'relieved.
"It'll save a lot of trouble, anyhow, if you're goin' in for public
life. A man in public life can't afford time for details such as
weighin' bullocks. But, for my part, I'm beginnin' to take an interest
in agriculture."

"And why not?" agreed Cai. "There's no prettier occupation than
farmin', so long as a man contents himself with lookin' on an' don't
start practising it. Actual farmin' needs capital, o' course."

To this 'Bias made no response, but continued to stare thoughtfully at
Mrs Bosenna's kine.

"After all," pursued Cai cheerfully, "these little interests are the
salt of a leisurable man's life. I dare say, f'r instance, as Philp
gets quite an amount o' fun out o' funerals, though to me it seems a
queer taste. Every man to his hobby; and yours, now, I can understand.
When you've finished potterin' around the garden, weedin' an' plantin',
--an', by the way, the season for plantin' isn't far off. It's about
time we looked up those autumn catalogues we talked so much about back
in the spring."

"True," said 'Bias. "It has slipped my mind of late. An' you not
mentionin' either--"

"Somehow it had slipped mine too. . . . All that Regatta business, I
suppose. . . . And now, if I am to take up with this School Board
there'll be more calls on my time. But there! If I turn over both the
gardens to you, I reckon you won't object. 'Twill be so much the more
occupation,--not o' course," added Cai, "that I want to shirk doin' my
share. But, as I was sayin', when you've done your day's job at the
garden, an' taken your stroll down to the quay to pick up the evenin'
gossip, what healthier wind-up can there be than to stretch your legs on
a walk to one of the two-three farms in the parish, an' note how the
crops are comin' on, an' the beef an' mutton, so to speak, an' how the
cows are in milk; an' maybe drop in for tea an' a chat?--here at Rilla,
f'r instance, where you'll always be sure of a welcome."

"You're sure o' that?" asked 'Bias. The words came slowly, heavily
charged with