They had taken care to avoid getting directly beneath it; for they had no wish to have man or animal tumble down upon their heads.
Now and then some of the gravel loosened and rattled down, and the clear light that made its way through the overhanging bushes showed that the sun was still shining, and, no doubt, several hours still remained to them in which to do any work that might present itself.

But, unfortunately, nothing remained to do.
Whatever were the different schemes which Mickey was turning over in his mind, none of them was ripe enough to experiment with.

As the Irishman thought of this and that, he decided to make no special effort until the morrow.

He and Fred could remain where they were without inconvenience for a day or two longer, but it was necessary, too, that they should have their full strength of body and mind when the time should come to work.
"Sometimes when I git into a sore puzzle," said Mickey, "and so many beautiful and irritating plans come up before me that I cannot find it in my heart which way to decide, I goes to slape and drames me way through it, right straight into the right way." "Did you ever find your path out of trouble ?" inquired Fred.
"Very frequently--that is, not to say so frequently--but on one or two important occasions.

I mind the time when I was coorting Bridget O'Flaherty and Mollie McFizzle, in the ould counthry.