He took a pretty stiff pull, and then handed it to us.

'A little of it won't hurt you, boys,' he said, 'after a night's work.' I took some--not much; we hadn't learned to drink then--to keep down the fear of something hanging over us.

A dreadful fear it is.

It makes a coward of every man who doesn't lead a square life, let him be as game as he may.
Jim wouldn't touch it.

'No,' he said, when I laughed at him, 'I promised mother last time I had more than was good for me at Dargo Races that I wouldn't touch it again for two years; and I won't either.