very strange about William's death--very strange
indeed!' sighed a melancholy man in the back of the van. It was the
seedsman's father, who had hitherto kept silence.

'And what might that have been?' asked Mr. Lackland.

THE SUPERSTITIOUS MAN'S STORY

'William, as you may know, was a curious, silent man; you could feel when
he came near 'ee; and if he was in the house or anywhere behind your back
without your seeing him, there seemed to be something clammy in the air,
as if a cellar door was opened close by your elbow. Well, one Sunday, at
a time that William was in very good health to all appearance, the bell
that was ringing for church went very heavy all of a sudden; the sexton,
who told me o't, said he'd not known the bell go so heavy in his hand for
years--it was just as if the gudgeons wanted oiling. That was on the
Sunday, as I say. During the week after, it chanced that William's wife
was staying up late one night to finish her ironing, she doing the
washing for Mr. and Mrs. Hardcome. Her husband had finished his supper
and gone to bed as usual some hour or two before. While she ironed she
heard him coming down stairs; he stopped to put on his boots at the stair-
foot, where he always left them, and then came on into the living-room
where she was ironing, passing through it towards the door, this being
the only way from the staircase to the outside of the house. No word was
said on either side, William not being a man given to much speaking, and
his wife being occupied with her work. He went out and closed the door
behind him. As her husband had now and then gone out in this way at
night before when unwell, or unable to sleep for want of a pipe, she took
no particular notice, and continued at her ironing. This she finished
shortly after, and as he had not come in she waited awhile for him,
putting away the irons and things, and preparing the table for his
breakfast in the morning. Still he did not return, but supposing him not
far off, and wanting to get to bed herself, tired as she was, she left
the door unbarred and went to the stairs, after writing on the back of
the door with chalk: _Mind and do the door_ (because he was a forgetful
man).

'To her great surprise, and I might say alarm, on reaching the foot of
the stairs his boots were standing there as they always stood when he had
gone to rest; going up to their chamber she found him in bed sleeping as
sound as a rock. How he could ha