ou might gi'
us a bit o' advice."

"About somefin' we seed last night," explained Mr. Duney, finding his
own voice at the sound of his companion's.

"I thowt 'ow 'twas agreed 'tween us I wor to tell the gentleman, bor?"
growled the pirate king, turning a pair of dusky eyes on his companion.
"Yow allus have a way o' overdoin' things, you know, Dick."

"Right, bor, right," replied Mr. Duney. "Yow oughter know I only wanted
to help yow out, Billy."

"I dawn't want onny helpin' out," replied the pirate. "It's loike this
'ere, ma'aster," he continued, turning again to Colwyn. "Arter Dick and
I left the _Anchor_ las' night, we thowt we'd be walkin' a spell. We wor
a talkin' o' th' murder at th' time, and wonderin' what we wor to do fur
another job o' work, things bein' moighty bad heerabouts, when, as we
neared top o' th' rise, we heered the rummiest kind o' noise a man ever
heerd, comin' from that theer wood by th' pits. Dick says to me, in a
skeered kind of voice, 'That's fair a rum un,' says he. There wornt much
mune at th' time, but we could see things clar enough, and thow we
looked around us we couldn't see a livin' thing a movin' either nigh th'
woods nor on th' ma'shes. While we looked we seed a big harnsee rise out
o' th' woods and go a flappin' away across th' ma'shes. Then all of a
suddint we saw somefin' come a-wamblin' outer the shadder o' the wood,
and run along by th' edge of ut. We couldn't make out a' furst what it
moight be, thow for sure we got a rare fright. For my part, I thowt it
might a' been ole Black Shuck, thow th' night didn't seem windy enough
for un."

"Stop a bit," said Colwyn. "What do you mean by Black Shuck? Oh, I
remember. It's a Norfolk tradition or ghost story, isn't it? Black Shuck
is supposed to be a big black dog, with one eye in the middle of the
head, who runs without sound and howls louder than the wind. Whoever
meets him is sure to die before the year is out."

"That's him," said Mr. Backlos, affirming, with a grave nod of his head,
his own profound belief in the canine apparition in question. "My
grandfeyther seen un once not a hundred yards from the very spot were we
wor standin' last night, and, sure enough, he died afore three months
wor out. Dick and I couldn't tell what it wor we see creepin' out o' th'
shadder o' th' wood, an' to tell yow th' trewth, ma'aster, we didn't
care to look agen. I asked Dick if he didn't think it wor Black Shuck.
'Naw daywt,' says Dick, 'if it