"You see, sir," said the quarryman, "when we cut that new slice we went slap through the head of the grave, and never knowed there was a grave there, till down came the head, like a snowball. It was my partner, James Downe, as was up there wi' his pick. Me was sitting here, and I'd just opened my bag for my dinner, when I heard James a-hollerin' to me to look out. I did look up, and seed that there skull come jumping down the side, and before I could undo my legs--I'd knotted them for my lunch, and had the bag open on my lap--down came the skull, and with one skip it flopped right among my victuals, and there it sat in my lap, looking up in my face, as innocent as a babe, so it seemed to me. "Well, sir, I daresay you know, if you know anything--and you seem to be a learned gentleman--that there ain't a better preservative against toothache than to carry about a dead man's tooth in your pocket. Dead men's teeth don't lie about promiscuous as empty snail shells, and I'd often wished to have one. I suffer terrible from my teeth. I've been kept roving with pain night after night, and one ain't up to work when one has been kept roving all night, either with teeth or babies. Me and the church sexton ain't the best of friends. You see, I'm a Bible Christian and spiritual, and that there sexton is of the earth, earthy. I couldn't ask a favour of him, to accommodate me with a tooth if he haps to turn one up when digging a new grave. It is true we have got a cemetery of our own to the chapel, but it's new, and nothing is turned up there but earthworms. As this was the case I was uncommon joyful when that head came bouncing into my lap. I found the teeth weren't particular tight in, and with my knife I easily got a tooth or two out; I thought I'd be square all round, so I got out a back tooth--they call 'em molars up to the Board School--and an eye tooth and a front one. Then I thought I was pretty well set up and protected against toothache. I got my wife to sew 'em up in a bit o'silk and hung it round my neck. I may say this--from that day so long as I wore the dead man's teeth I never had a touch of toothache." "And how long did you wear them?" "Three days, sir." "Not more? Why did you not retain them?" "I'll tell you why, if you'll listen to me." "Certainly. But what have you done with the skull?" "Chucked it away. It weren't no good to nobody--least of all to the owner. And for me--I'd got out of it all I wanted." "You have not the teeth now?" "No. I kept them for three days and then chucked them away." "Have you had toothache since?" "Terrible; but I had what was wusser when I had the teeth." "Well, go on and tell me what the wusser was."