sey,
assisted by Joe, put them all in the yard, and hammered them with
sticks. Dwyer came along.

"Those cattle belong to me," he said angrily.

"They belongs t' ME," Casey answered, "until you pay damages." Then he
put his back to the slip-rails and looked up aggressively into Dwyer's
face. Dwyer was a giant beside Casey. Dwyer did n't say anything--he
was n't a man of words--but started throwing the rails down to let the
cows out. Casey flew at him. Dwyer quietly shoved him away with his
long, brown arm. Casey came again and fastened on to Dwyer. Joe
mounted the stockyard. Dwyer seized Casey with both hands; then there
was a struggle--on Casey's part. Dwyer lifted him up and carried him
away and set him down on his back, then hastened to the rails. But
before he could throw them down Casey was upon him again. Casey never
knew when he was beaten. Dwyer was getting annoyed. He took Casey by
the back of the neck and squeezed him. Casey humped his shoulders and
gasped. Dwyer stared about. A plough-rein hung on the yard. Dwyer
reached for it. Casey yelled, "Murder!" Dwyer fastened one end of the
rope round Casey's body--under the arms--and stared about again. And
again "Murder!" from Casey. Joe jumped off the yard to get further
away. A tree, with a high horizontal limb, stood near. Dad once used
it as a butcher's gallows. Dwyer gathered the loose rein into a coil
and heaved it over the limb, and hauled Casey up. Then he tied the end
of the rope to the yard and drove out the cows.

"When y' want 'im down," Dwyer said to Joe as he walked away, "cut the
rope."

Casey groaned, and one of his boots dropped off. Then he began to spin
round--to wind up and unwind and wind up again. Joe came near and eyed
the twirling form with joy.

Mother and Sal arrived, breathless and excited. They screeched at Joe.

"Undo th' r-r-rope," Joe said, "an' he'll come w-w--WOP."

Sal ran away and procured a sheet, and Mother and she held it under
Casey, and told Joe to unfasten the rope and lower him as steadily as
he could. Joe unfastened the rope, but somehow it pinched his fingers
and he let go, and Casey fell through the sheet. For three weeks Casey
was an invalid at our place. He would have been invalided there for
the rest of his days only old Dad came home and induced him to leave.
Casey did n't want to go; but Dad had a persuasive way with him that
generally proved effectual.

Singularly enough, Dad comp