"There's enough in th' butt t' batther a maan's brains out."
Jamie seized the gun and the can and the man got up.
They walked down the road in silence, each watching the other out of the corners of his eyes.
"D'ye believe in God?" Jamie asked abruptly. The farmer hesitated before answering.
"Why d'ye ask?"
"I'd like t' see a maan in these times that believed wi' his heart insted ov his mouth!"
"Wud he let other people milk his cows?" asked the man, sneeringly.
"He mightn't haave cows t' milk," Jamie said. "But he'd be kind and not a glutton!"
They arrived at the house. The man went in first. He stopped near the door and Jamie instinctively and in fear shot past him. What he saw dazed him. "Ah, God!" he exclaimed. "She's dead!"
Anna lay on her back on the floor and the boy was asleep by the hearth with his head in the ashes. The neighbors were alarmed and came to assist. The farmer felt Anna's pulse. It was feebly fluttering.