“Maw wants to know if you got any coffee you kin lend,” the shrill voice of Portia sounded unexpectedly at his elbow.  Casey jumped,—­an indication that his nerves had been unstrung.

“Lend?  Hunh!  Tell ’er I give her a cupful.”  Then, because Casey had streaks of wisdom, he closed the doors of the garage and locked them from the inside.  Cars might come and honk as long as they liked; Casey was going to have his sleep.

Very early he was awakened by the bleating, the barking, the crying and the wrangling of the Smiths.  He pulled his tarp over his ears, hot as it was, to shut out the sound.  After a long while he heard the stutter of the truck motor getting warmed up.  There was a clamor of voices, a bleating of goats, the barking of the spotted dog, and the truck moved off.

“Thank Gawd!” muttered Casey, and went to sleep again.

CHAPTER XI

At two o’clock the next afternoon, the Smith outfit came back, limping along on three bare rims.  Casey’s jaw dropped a little when he saw them coming, but nature had made him an optimist.  Now, perhaps, that hungry-looking Smith would dig into his pocket and find the price of new tires.  It had been Casey’s experience that a man who protested the loudest that he was broke would, if held rigidly to the no-credit rule, find the money to pay for what he must have.  In his heart he believed that Smith had money dangling somewhere in close proximity to his lank person.

But if Smith had any money he did not betray the fact.  He asked quite humbly for the loan of tools, and tube cement, and more blow-out patches, and set awkwardly to work mending his tattered tires.  And once more Casey sent Juan to borrow the Oasis tub, and watered the goats and picked his way amongst the Smith offsprings and pretended to be deaf half of the time, and said he didn’t know the other half.  His green glass water pitcher was practically useless to travelers, and Juan was worse.  A goat got away from Humbolt and Greeley and went exploring in the corner of the garage where Casey lived, and ate three pounds of bacon.  You know what bacon costs.  Maw Smith became acquainted with Casey and followed him about with a detailed recital of her family history, which she thought would make a real exciting book.  What Casey thought I must not tell you.

That night Casey patched tires and tubes.  He had to, you see, or go crazy.  Next morning he listened to the departure of the Smith family and the Smith goats, and prayed that their tires would hold out even as far as Bagdad,—­though I don’t see why, since there was no garage in Bagdad, or anything else but a flag station.

That afternoon at three o’clock, they came back again!  And Casey neglected to send Juan after the tub to water the goats.  Wherefore paw sent Humbolt, and watered the goats himself from Casey’s barrel and seemed peevish because he must.  Maw Smith came after coffee again, and helped herself with no more formality than a shrill, “I’m borrying some more coffee!” sent to Casey out in front.