“Your brother did, Ding? To a nice place?” cried Esau.
“Yes, my lad, and he’s getting on fine.”
“Then why didn’t you go too, and get on fine?”
“’Cause I’ve got a houseful o’ children, and nearly all gals. That’s why, Clevershakes.”
“But what does your brother do?” I said eagerly. “Is he an auctioneer’s porter?”
“Love and bless your heart, Mr Gordon, sir, no,” he cried. “I don’t believe there’s such a thing over there. He went out in the woods, and got a bit o’ land give him, and built hisself a log-house, and made a garden, and got cows, and shoots in the woods.”
“Here, hold hard, Ding,” cried Esau, excitedly; “that’ll do. Goes shooting in the woods?”
“Yes, and gets a deer sometimes, and one winter he killed a bear and two wolves, my lad.”
“That’s the place,” cried Esau. “Hooroar! Come on, Master Gordon, let’s go there.”
Dingle laughed.