"If you do, walk on the other side."
Andy laughed. He was no longer provoked, but amused.
"Then, by the same token, you'd better not come by my mother's house," he said, good-humoredly.
"I don't want to come near your miserable shanty," said Godfrey, disdainfully.
"You may come, if you keep on the other side of the road," said Andy, slyly.
Godfrey was getting disgusted; for in the war of words, as well as of blows, his ragged opponent seemed to be getting the better of him. He turned on his heel and entered the house. He was sure of one who would sympathize with him in his dislike and contempt for Andy—this was, of course, his mother. Besides, he had another idea. He knew that Mrs. Burke had been employed by his mother, occasionally, to assist in the house. It occurred to him that it would be a fine piece of revenge to induce her to dispense hereafter with the poor woman's services. Bent on accomplishing this creditable retaliation, he left his young opponent master of the field.
"I must be goin'," said Andy, as he picked up his bundle and suspended it from his stick. "Will I find the house where my mother lives, easy?"
The question was, of course, addressed to John, who had just turned to go to the stable.
"You can't miss it," answered John. "It's a mile up the road, stands a little way back. There's a few hills of potatoes in the front yard. How long since you saw your mother?"
"It's three months."