"'Course not," Cricket answers promptly. "It don't belong to me--I'm workin' for some friends of mine, takin' care of it, but as long as you ain't hurtin' it there's no reason you can't stay for a little while."
Actually, there are a lot of reasons you don't keep a child at a still. Secrecy is the main one, but there's also alcohol and fire so it's not a playground. From the look of this one, though, Cricket doubts a playground is what he's looking for. "Howard'll be along in a few hours, but he won't mind, either, I promise."
If he has to, he will make Howard not mind. He's acting casual, but he can tell the child is in some kind of desperate situation, and his heart aches, beneath the friendly look he gives him.
He picks up his lunch pail and heads for the door with a soft smile and a gentle beckoning motion. "C'mon inside. I'll split breakfast with you. Don't tell me you ain't hungry if you been out here all night."
Once inside, he sets the bucket down on a rugged bench along the wall, and then pulls off his own jacket and tosses it lightly to the kid. "I'm Cricket. What do I call you?"
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Actually, there are a lot of reasons you don't keep a child at a still. Secrecy is the main one, but there's also alcohol and fire so it's not a playground. From the look of this one, though, Cricket doubts a playground is what he's looking for. "Howard'll be along in a few hours, but he won't mind, either, I promise."
If he has to, he will make Howard not mind. He's acting casual, but he can tell the child is in some kind of desperate situation, and his heart aches, beneath the friendly look he gives him.
He picks up his lunch pail and heads for the door with a soft smile and a gentle beckoning motion. "C'mon inside. I'll split breakfast with you. Don't tell me you ain't hungry if you been out here all night."
Once inside, he sets the bucket down on a rugged bench along the wall, and then pulls off his own jacket and tosses it lightly to the kid. "I'm Cricket. What do I call you?"