Ripple and flood Author:James Prior Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE STRANGER STAYS I Slept ill that night; but for all I rose unusually early the next morning my uncle was downstairs before me The fire was lig... more »hted, and I heard the dull sound of the chaff-cutter in the hay hovel. I took the kettle and went out to draw water. My uncle walked past me as I bent over the well. He was carrying a sack of chop on his shoulders, and the light of his lantern fell on me; but he did not speak to me, and I did not speak to him. When I had got breakfast ready I shouted to him twice or thrice, and then he came. But he drew back from the lighted kitchen, called me forth into the dark, blew out the candle in the lantern, and then spoke. " That tramp feller who came here last night " "Ay ? " I said, for he seemed to await the response. " I wanted to know if yer remembered. I'm going to keep him a while and try if he's good for oat. If he'll work, I'll find him in work. We sha'n't want to have Horn to help us so often. But if he's looking out for a place to live like a gentleman in, he's mistook his road. Now be sharp and let's have breakfast." He made a move to the door, but before I had started to follow he had turned again. "Stop. P'r'aps yer think I've known this man afore ? " It seemed to me he was trying to read my face by the feeble glimmer that surrounded the door. " I don't know," I said. " Yes," I said. He seemed a little taken aback, as though he had hoped for denial. " Well, I did know him once—middling well—when we were lads. His father and mine—were neighbours. But that gives him no claim on me. He's made his own bed, and I've no call to interfere with his sleeping. Still, if the man will work, there's work for him. Just like anybody else." We went in. While we had been talking the tramp had entered the kitch...« less