Jacob could speak only German--Joe understood only pure unadulterated
Australian. Still Jacob insisted on talking and telling Joe his private
affairs.

This day, Mrs. Lipp accompanied Jacob. She came to have a "yarn" with
Mother. They did n't understand each other either; but it did n't matter
much to them--it never does matter much to women whether they understand
or not; anyway, they laughed most of the time and seemed to enjoy
themselves greatly. Outside Jacob and Joe mixed up in an argument.
Jacob shoved his face close to Joe's and gesticulated and talked German at
the rate of two hundred words a minute. Joe thought he understood him and
said: "You want to fight?" Jacob seemed to have a nightmare in German.

"Orright, then," Joe said, and knocked him down.

Jacob seemed to understand Australian better when he got up, for he ran
inside, and Joe put his ear to a crack, but did n't hear him tell Mother.

Joe had an idea. He would set the steel-trap on a wire-post and catch
Jacob. He set it. Jacob started home. One, two, three posts he hit.
Then he hit the trap. It grabbed him faithfully by three fingers.

Angels of Love! did ever a boy of fourteen yell like it before! He sprang
in the air--threw himself on the ground like a roped brumby--jumped up
again and ran all he knew, frantically wringing the hand the trap clung
to. What Jacob reckoned had hold of him Heaven only can tell. His mother
thought he must have gone mad and ran after him. Our Mother fairly tore
after her. Dad and Dave left a dray-load of corn and joined in the hunt.
Between them they got Jacob down and took him out of the trap. Dad
smashed the infernal machine, and then went to look for Joe. But Joe