y' could n't."

"COULD N'T?" And the policeman laughed till he nearly had the house down,
only stopping to ask, while the tears ran over his well-fed cheeks,
"Did he charge him forrit?" and laughed again. He went away laughing,
and for all I know the wooden-head may be laughing yet.

Everything was favourable to a good harvest. The rain fell just when it
was wanted, and one could almost see the corn growing. How it encouraged
Dad, and what new life it seemed to give him! In the cool of the evenings
he would walk along the headlands and admire the forming cobs, and listen
to the rustling of the rows of drooping blades as they swayed and beat
against each other in the breeze. Then he would go home filled with fresh
hopes and talk of nothing but the good prospect of that crop.

And how we worked! Joe was the only one who played. I remember him
finding something on a chain one day. He had never seen anything like it
before. Dad told him it was a steel-trap and explained the working of it.
Joe was entranced--an invaluable possession! A treasure, he felt, that
the Lord must specially have sent him to catch things with. He caught
many things with it--willie-wagtails, laughing-jackasses, fowls, and
mostly the dog. Joe was a born naturalist--a perfect McCooey in his way,
and a close observer of the habits and customs of animals and living
things. He observed that whenever Jacob Lipp came to our place he always,
when going home, ran along the fence and touched the top of every post
with his hand. The Lipps had newly arrived from Germany, and their
selection adjoined ours. Jacob was their "eldest", about fourteen, and a
fat, jabbering, jolly-faced youth he was. He often came to our place and
followed Joe about. Joe never cared much for the company of anyone
younger than himself, and therefore fiercely resented the indignity.