FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   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   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   >>   >|  
was built specially for a man who was half an invalid; he used to go for long tours, and sleep in the car because he hated hotels. So it's a special size. It used to be jolly useful taking out wounded men in England." "Sure, it would be," Murty said. "Only--somehow, it don't seem to fit into Billabong, Mr. Jim!" "So big as that! I say, Murty!" "Yerra, there's room enough for it," grinned the Irishman. "Only, motors and Billabong don't go hand in hand--we've always stuck to horses, haven't we, Mr. Jim?" "We'll do that still," Jim said. "But it will be useful, all the same, Murty." He laughed at the stockman's lugubrious face. "Oh, I know it's giving you the sort of pain you had when dad had the telephone put on--" "Well, 'tis the quare onnatural little machine, an' I niver feel anyways at home with it, Mr. Jim," Murty defended himself. "There's lots like you, Murty. But you'll admit that when we've got to send a telegram, it's better to telephone it than make a man ride thirty-four miles with it?" "I suppose it is," said the Irishman doubtfully. "I dunno, though--if 'twas that black imp of a Billy he'd as well be doing that as propping up the stable wall an' smokin'!" Jim chuckled. "There's no getting round an Irishman when he makes up his mind," he said. "And if you had to catch the eight o'clock train to Melbourne I believe you'd rather get up at three in the morning and run up the horses to drive in, than leave here comfortably in the car at seven." "Is it me to dhrive in it?" demanded Murty, in horror. "Begob, I'd lose me life before I'd get into one of thim quare, sawed-off things. Give me something with shafts, Mr. Jim, and a dacint horse in them. More by token, I would not get up at three in the morning either, but dhrive in aisy an' comfortable the night before." He beamed on Jim with so clear a conviction that he was unanswerable that Jim hadn't the heart to argue further. Instead he ran the car deftly into a buggy-shed whence an ancient double buggy had been deposed to make room for her, and then fell to discussing with Murty the question of building a garage, with a turn-table and pit for cleaning and repairs. To which Murty gave the eager interest and attention he would have shown had Jim proposed building anything, even had it been an Eiffel Tower on the front lawn. Brownie came out through the box-trees to the stables, presently. "Now, Master Jim, afternoon tea's in these ten minu
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   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   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Irishman

 

morning

 

building

 

horses

 

telephone

 
dhrive
 

Billabong

 

conviction

 
beamed
 
comfortable

horror

 
demanded
 
comfortably
 
shafts
 

dacint

 

things

 
unanswerable
 

question

 

Eiffel

 

Brownie


attention

 
interest
 

proposed

 

afternoon

 

Master

 

stables

 

presently

 
ancient
 

double

 

deposed


deftly

 
Instead
 

cleaning

 
repairs
 
discussing
 
Melbourne
 

garage

 

doubtfully

 

motors

 

grinned


giving

 
laughed
 

stockman

 

lugubrious

 

hotels

 

invalid

 

specially

 

special

 

England

 

taking