slip off the verandah and go round to the horses.
He was passing the open window when he heard a cry of surprise, almost of terror, from within, which caused him to stop.
Looking into the room, he saw Rodney Shaw sitting on his bed, in his pyjamas, and glancing at him with wide, staring eyes.
'Who the devil are you?' said Shaw in a wild tone of voice.
'It's only me, Jim Dennis.'
'What are you doing there? Why are you spying about on my verandah? I'll have you locked up,' said Shaw.
Jim laughed, and made excuses for him.
'He's not himself, he's been drinking,' he thought.
'I brought your horse back, and I camped in a chair on the verandah to wait until some of the hands were about.'
'I don't believe it. It's a – ' began Shaw.
'Stop,' said Jim. 'Even if you have been on a "jag," I allow no man to call me that.'
He spoke in a resolute tone, and Rodney Shaw, pulling himself together, thought better of what he was about to say, and went out to him.
'You took me by surprise,' he said in an apologetic way. 'I have been absent so long that I am not accustomed to the change again.'
'How haggard and worn he looks,' thought Jim. 'I wonder what ails him.'
'Have you been on a "jag"?' asked Jim, smiling.
Rodney Shaw looked at him. He evidently did not understand what he meant.
Jim thought this strange.
'Surely you have not forgotten what a "jag" means. You have been on one or two in your time at Swamp Creek.'
Rodney Shaw laughed.
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