'is
work, and Mr. Bunnett had 'ardly got 'ome afore Henery Walker turned up
full of anxiousness to ask his advice about five little baby kittens wot
'is old cat had found in the wash-place: the night afore.

"'Drownd them little innercent things, same as most would do, I can't,'
he ses, shaking his 'ead; 'but wot to do with 'em I don't know.'

"'Couldn't you find 'omes for 'em?' ses Mr. Bunnett.

"Henery Walker shook his 'ead agin. ''Tain't no use thinking o' that,'
he ses. 'There's more cats than 'omes about 'ere'. Why, Bill Chambers
drownded six o'ny last week right afore the eyes of my pore little boy.
Upset 'im dreadful it did.'

"Mr. Bunnett walked up and down the room thinking. 'We must try and find
'omes for 'em when they are old enough,' he says at last; 'I'll go round
myself and see wot I can do for you.'

"Henery Walker thanked 'im and went off 'ome doing a bit o' thinking; and
well he 'ad reason to. Everybody wanted one o' them kittens. Peter
Gubbins offered for to take two, and Mr. Bunnett told Henery Walker next
day that 'e could ha' found 'omes for 'em ten times over.

"'You've no idea wot fine, kind-'arted people they are in this village
when their 'arts are touched,' he ses, smiling at Henery. 'You ought to
'ave seen Mr. Jones's smile when I asked 'im to take one. It did me good
to see it. And I spoke to Mr. Chambers about drowning 'is kittens, and
he told me 'e hadn't slept a wink ever since. And he offered to take
your old cat to make up for it, if you was tired of keeping it.

"It was very 'ard on Henery Walker, I must say that. Other people was
getting the credit of bringing up 'is kittens, and more than that, they
used to ask Mr. Bunnett into their places to see 'ow the little dears was
a-getting on.

"Kindness to animals caused more unpleasantness in Claybury than anything
'ad ever done afore. There was hardly a man as 'ud speak civil to each
other, and the wimmen was a'most as bad. Cats and dogs and such-like
began to act as if the place belonged to 'em, and seven people stopped
Mr. Bunnett one day to tell 'im that Joe Parsons 'ad been putting down
rat-poison and killed five little baby rats and their mother.

"It was some time afore anybody knew that Bob Pretty 'ad got 'is eye on
that gold watch, and when they did they could 'ardly believe it. They
give Bob credit for too much sense to waste time over wot they knew 'e
couldn't get, but arter they 'ad heard one or two thing