It made good hay and the fierce sun had dried it well, so that he had only to cut and haul it home; but something had gone wrong with the machine, and after taking out the broken knife he dismantled the driving gear.

When he crawled out, with a greasy cogwheel in his hand, he was soaked with perspiration and his overalls were stained by oil.

The mosquitoes, that did not as a rule venture out in the strong wind and sun, had bitten him badly while he lay in the grass.
"You had better wait for ten minutes and take a smoke," said Charnock, who had come up quietly and sat in the shade of the partly-loaded wagon.
"You'll get on faster when you have cooled down." "You believe in waiting, don't you ?" Festing rejoined.
Charnock laughed.

"I feel justified in going slow just now.

Sadie has given me a day off, and when she doesn't think I ought to work it certainly isn't necessary.