ly; but th' next time
'at tha'rt comin' ovver that way just let me know, an' aw'll have that
tub aght o'th' gate. Goa thi ways into th' chamer an' change them
stinkin' things, an' then come an' sit thi daan an' let's tawk to thi a
bit, an' see if aw can get ony sense aght on thi, for aw'm sure nubdy
can put ony in."

"All serene," sed Jack, an he went an' changed his clooas, an' when he'd
getten donned afresh he coom daan stairs an' sat daan i'th' arm-cheer
beside th' fire. "Yea-a-aw! yea-a-aw!" went summat, an' up he sprang as
if th' cheer-bottom wor redwoot. "A'a, tha gurt gaumless fooil!" sed his
hont, "couldn't ta see a cat an' three kittens? Aw do believe tha's
killed 'em ivery one! Poor little things!" Nay, nay, aw niver did see
sich a thing i' all my life! tha's killed 'em all three, an' it's a
wonder tha hasn't killed th' old cat an' all. Dear-a-me, aw did intend
draandin 'em to-morn, an' to think 'at they should be squeezed to deeath
this way, Aw shalln't get ovver it for monny a day."

"Well, aw'm varry sooary, hont; but aw niver saw' em, iw'm sure. Whoiver
expected to find a cat an' three kittens in a arm-cheer? But let's be
thankful, for it mud ha' been war."

"Nay, net it! it couldn't ha' been war nor it is: tha's killed em, an'
tha couldn't do ony moor if tha'd to try." "Well, but aw mud ha' killed
th' old cat as weel, yo know."

"What does ta say? Killed awr Tibby? Tha'd better keep thi heels this
rooad as long as iver tha lives nor think o' sich a thing, for aw browt
her up wi a spooin throo being blind, an' aw wodn't swap her for all th'
cats i'th' world. An' if it had been anybody else nor thee 'at had done
this, they'd ha' heeard a bit o' my tongue, aw con tell thi; but,
haiver, it is as it is, soa sit thi daan. Tha's noa need to luk soa
jaylus, mun, ther's nowt under thi nah but a wish in; tha luks as white
as a gooast; aw expect tha's getten thi deeath o' cold, but aw'll get
thi a sup o' whiskey, an' see if that'll warm thi a bit."

Shoo went to th' cubbard an' browt aght a bottle, an' put it onto th'
table, teld him to help hissen. "Tha's noa need to be flaid on it," shoo
sed, "it's some o'th' reight sooart; it's what thi uncle allus taks when
he ails owt, an' aw believe if th' time iver comes when a sup o' that
willn't cure him, it'll be a case o' curran cake an slow walkin: for aw
believe its saved his life manny a scoor times already, an' it's a deeal
cheeaper nor doctor's physic."

Jack