John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 1 (of 3)Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
General
John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 1 (of 3)
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
West Country (England) -- Fiction
’I prefer removing them. When the post-boy returns from Okehampton with
the doctor, I will secure his assistance.’
Cicely had lighted a lantern whilst her father was speaking. She
offered it to John Herring. ’I will go for you to the cottages,’ she
said; ’I will send some men to help you.’ She accompanied him to the
door. ’It is quite right that the things should not be left out all
night on the moor. There are tramps on the Exeter road, and the
Cobbledicks are close by.’ She opened the door, and the light fell on
Joyce.
’Why, Joyce, you here still? I thought you had gone back to the Giant’s
Table.’
’If I were to go back to vaither, he’d kill me. I ha’ lost he his old
barril, and him won’t sleep under the table a’cos mother be there wi’
her playful ways, tormenting of he.’
’What do you mean, Joyce?’
’I means this, miss. His barril be rolled away down hill, and I dunnow
where her be rolled to. Where be vaither to sleep?’
’Under the Giant’s Table.’
’That won’t do, ’cos o’ mother. Her be lively o’ nights when vaither be
there. ’Tain’t wickedness, it be her playful ways. Her leaves me alone
right enough. But vaither won’t go there. Now if he might sleep i’ one
o’ your linnies,[1] he’d be right vast enough as a nail in a door.’
[1] Lean-to sheds.
’By all means let him sleep there, Joyce, at least for a while, till you
can recover the cask.’
’Then I can go back to he. If I hadn’t that to say, he’d ha’ killed me.
Now he’ll go snuggle into the straw like a heckamall[2] in a rick.
That’s beautiful!’
[2] A heckamall or heckanoddy is a tomtit.
’Joyce,’ said Cicely, ’this gentleman is going to the broken carriage.
Perhaps you can assist him to remove some of the trunks. They must not
be left out where they are.’
’There be some scatt right abroad,’[3] answered Joyce; ’I seed mun, and
the things be coming out like.’
[3] Broken to pieces.
’More the reason why they should be collected and brought under cover.’
’I’ll go right on end,’ said Joyce. ’And vaither may sleep in the
linney?’
’Yes, he may.’
’Oh, rallaluley, he’ll be glad!’
So Joyce led the way, followed by Herring, and Miss Cicely Battishill
went in quest of assistance.
When Herring and Joyce reached the scene of the accident, they
discovered Old Grizzly hopping about amidst the wreck, pulling the
pieces of the broken carriage apart. He had made some clearance in the
confusion, but not from disinterested motives. Everything in the shape
of cushion and cloak had disappeared, and the old wrecker was engaged in
collecting chips of the broken wood for firing.
John Herring did not notice particularly what he was about; it was too
dark to distinguish much. He went directly to the boxes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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