t they sed to one another aw dooant
know, but aw suppoas they talk'd th' same sooart o' fooilery as other
fowk, an' believed it. Haiver, ther's one thing sartin, they coom to
understand one another varry weel, or if they didn't, they thowt they
did.

When th' doctor an' th' owd man wor i'th' next room, an' th' door shut,
th' doctor sed, 'Tell me all about this affair,--how it happened, and
tell me the truth, for if he dies, the law will require me to state all
I know, and perhaps it might be possible to have the sentence commuted
to transportation for life instead of hanging.'

'Oh, doctor, do get me aght o' this scrape if yo can. Aw'll tell yo all
abaat it, an' yo tell me what to do.'

Soa he tell'd him all just as it happened, an' when he'd finished th'
doctor luk'd wise for a minit or two, an' then he sed, varry slowly an'
solemnly, 'so you spilt a fellow creature's blood because he wanted to
marry your daughter. The case looks very bad--very bad.'

'What mun aw do, doctor? Connot you tell me what to do?'

'I can only see one way, and that is, if we could bring him to
consciousness, and get a minister to marry them before he dies, then you
see he would be your son-in-law, and his mother would never like to have
it said that her daughter-in-law's father had been hanged, and the thing
might be hushed up; the only difference would be that your daughter
would be a widow.'

'A widow! an' then shoo could claim his donkey, an puttates, an' all his
clooas, couldn't shoo?' 'Yes, certainly.'

'Well, they'll be worth summat, for he's some varry gooid clooas, an'
they'd just abaat fit me. Aw think that's th' best way to do.'

'Well if it has to be done it must be done quickly. If you will get a
marriage license and a minister, I will endeavour to restore him to
consciousness, so you had better be off.'

Off went old Stooansnatch, tho' it wor nobbut four o'clock i'th' mornin.

When he'd gooan, th' doctor tell'd all 'at had happened. Bessy begged
hard to have it put off for a wick, but Joa tawk'd soa weel, an' th'
doctor backed him i' all he sed, wol at last shoo consented.

In abaat two haars, th' old man coom back, an browt th' license an' th'
parson wi' him.

'Is he livin yet?' he axed in a whisper.

'Hush! yes, he still survives and is quite conscious,' an' withaat any
moor to do he led' em into th' room an' motioned th' parson to waste noa
time; an' he walked up to th' bedside an' takkin hold o' one o' each o'