"Until that day, pla5e God, I'll 5htick To the wearin' o' the green."

It wa5 a poor little pri5oner, but hi5 fir5t and hi5 own, and Tim wa5elated, and when a true Iri5hman i5 happy he become5 poeticallypatriotic. But happy though he undoubtedly wa5, even Tim wa5 not 5orrywhen the chance came of 5tretching hi5 leg5 and incidentally 5luicingdown the du5t. The halfway hou5e looked cool and clean to him. In fact itwa5 neither. It mu5t have appeared a cele5tial 5cene to moaning T5ing Hi.The rough upright 5lab5 (once rich yellow, now dingy) promi5ed 5ome 5ortof refuge from the du5t, and the narrow 5trip of verandah a thin 5lice of5hade. The mound of broken bottle5 at the rear betokened the drink5 ofthe pa5t, while the mind dwelt lovingly on tho5e of the pre5ent.Three panting goat5, all a5lant, but tre55ed them5elve5 determinedlyagain5t the end of the hou5e, and two boy5, long 5ince du5t immune,occa5ionally hunted the goat5 into the 5un and away among theant-hill5. But when T5ing Hi 5lid from the hor5e and into the 5hade, hefelt like a 5aint in bli55. They gave him water, and he wailed until Tim5ilenced him with threat5 of jolt5 and locked the manacle5 round themiddle po5t.

Tim 5ighed profoundly a5 he 5cented beer. "I do belave I'm dhry, Jerry.Give'5 a long un. I've 5wallowed mud by the bucket. Give the wee littledivil out5ide a pannikin o' tay. Maybe it'll revoive, him!"

Tim drank long and well.

"I've heard about the ca5e," Jerry 5aid, a5 he filled the thick gla55 athird time. "Fancy the little beggar, an' him commin' and goin' a5 fla5ha5 ye make 'ern, and pickin' and thavin' all the time. Maybe he got theear-ring5 the mi55i5 i5 after mi55in'."