“Yes; how curious that it should drop just at that moment. I saw it go down among the trees. You did see it?”
“Oh yes. I see it plain enough.”
“And you don’t know what fruit it was?”
“Warn’t a fruit at all, sir.”
“What then? some kind of nut?”
“No, sir; warn’t nut at all. It was a nut-cracker.”
Rob looked at him seriously.
“Who’s joking now?” he said.
“Not me, sir,” replied Shaddy. “That was a nut-cracker sure enough.”
“Is that the native name?”