“Oh, well, maybe you’ve outgrown your strength a bit, my dear,” said the farmer’s wife, smiling comfortably.—“And now, Master Dennis, I mustn’t forget that Andrew’s got a couple of young jackdaws for you: would you like to take them back now, or let ’em bide here a little?”
There was some consultation between Dennis and his sister, before it was finally settled that the jackdaws should not be taken then and there to Fieldside, but should first have a home prepared for them.
“And I know just where to build it,” he said, as the three children started on their return after saying good-bye to Mrs Solace. “Just in that corner, you know, between the fowl-house and the cow-shed.”
“Do you know how to build it?” asked Philippa.
“Well, perhaps not just quite exactly,” said Dennis with candour; “but Tuvvy will tell me and help with the difficult parts. He passes through our field every night, you know.”
“And shall you work at it just like a carpenter?” asked Philippa with surprise.
“As like as I can,” said Dennis modestly; “you see, I do know a little carpentering because I’ve watched Tuvvy so much.”
“You’re a very odd boy,” said Philippa. Every day that she passed at Fieldside she became more and more certain that her cousins did strange things, and liked strange things; but, at the same time, there was something pleasant about the life they led, and she did not feel cross nearly as often as she did at home. She even began to share their interest in the affairs of the village.
“I wish there were people at Haughton I could go and see like this,” she said one day.
“But there isn’t any village at Haughton,” said Dennis. “There’s only the Upwell Road outside the gates.”