in what thou says,' replied
Mike. 'It will be Ash-Riddling Day come next Friday, and then we can
find out for wersens if Owd Jerry's boun' to dee afore the year's out.'

"'What does thou mean?' I axed.

"'Why, lass, wheer has thou been brought up if thou's niver heerd tell
o' Ash-Riddling Day? What a thing it is to wed a foreigner! If thou'd
been bred and born in Wharfedale thou'd have no need to axe about
Ash-Riddling Day.'

Well, I set no count on his fleering at fowks that hadn't been brought
up in his dale, for I was wanting to know what he meant.

"'What thou's gotten to do,' he said, 'is to tak the peat-rake afore
thou goes to bed and rake the ashes out o' the fire and spread 'em all
ower the hearthstone. Then thou can go to bed, and next morning, if
there's to be a death in the family in the next twel-month the foot-step
o' the lad or lass that has to dee will be stamped on the ash.'

"When he'd finished his tale I gave out that I reckoned it nobbut
blether, but I minded all the same; and that neet, when I were i' bed, I
couldn't give ower thinking o' what he'd said, and I made up my mind
that I'd set the peat-ash on the hearthstone come Thorsday neet. Next
morning I thought different, but all the same I couldn't get shut o' the
temptation. Ay, 'twere a temptation o' the deevil, sure enough; he were
ticing me to eat o' the Tree o' Knowledge, same as he ticed Eve i' the
garden. So I said: 'Get thee behind me, Satan,' and I kept him behind me
all that day. But when it got dark, and I'd putten the childer to bed,
he came forrad, and the ticing got stronger and stronger. It wasn't that
I wanted Owd Jerry to dee, but I were mad to see if there was ony truth
in the tale that Mike had told.

"Well, Tuesday passed, and Wednesday passed, and Thorsday came. I said
no more about the ash-riddling to Mike, and I reckon he'd forgotten all
about it. But that day Owd Jerry were warr nor iver. He set up his
fratching at breakfast acause his porridge was burnt, and kept at it all
day. Nowt that I did for him were reet; if I filled his pipe, he said
I'd putten salt in his baccy, and if I went out to feed the cauves, he
told me I left the doors oppen, and wanted to give him his death o'
cowd. Evening came at last, and by nine o'clock I were left alone i' the
kitchen. Owd Jerry were i' bed, and the childer too, all except Amos,
our eldest barn, and he had set off wi' his father to look after the
lambing yowes, and wouldn't be b