Was she ill ?" "Yes," he said shortly.

"Get them steps." I fetched _them_ steps, and thought that a gardener might just as well be grammatical.
He opened them out, and opening his knife, cut a few strands of matting ready, stuck them under one of his braces, after taking off his coat, and then climbed up to the top to tie in a long green cane of the grape-vine.
"Hold the steps steady," he said; and then with his head in amongst the leaves he went on talking.
"Bit queer in the head," he said slowly, and with his face averted.
"Shied at you." I stared.

His wife was not a horse, and I thought they were the only things that shied; but I found I was wrong, for Mr Solomon went on: "I did, too.

Ezra said a lot about you.

Fine young shoot this, ain't it ?" I said it was, for it was about ten feet long and as thick as my finger, and it seemed wonderful that it should have grown like that in a few months; but all the time my cheeks were tingling as I wondered what Old Brownsmith had said about me.
"Sounded all right, but it's risky to take a boy into your house when you are comfortable without, you see." I felt ashamed and hurt that I should have been talked of so, and remained silent.
"The missus said you might be dirty and awkward in the house.