How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
The stove was still there too, but so rusted from rain leaking down, it hardly seemed worth saving. Birdy, though, said they should take it out. You hadn't ought to throw away good iron. And anyway, some poor family would be glad to get hold of it. (59.8)
Waste not, want not, as they say. This takes place when Birdy is removing items that have value before he and Tom burn down the Breen house. Birdy is an expert at seeing the usefulness of stuff most people would send to the dump. And it's not that he's cheap, like someone stuffing ketchup packets into their pockets at a fast food place. Instead, it's another aspect of his knowledge about their world, and Tom benefits from Birdy's resourceful eye several times while building his barn.