ng which the dogs, proof against various hot splashes
which fell upon their noses, watched with terrible eagerness. At
length the dish was lifted on the table, and mugs of ale having been
previously set round, little Nell ventured to say grace, and supper
began.

At this juncture the poor dogs were standing on their hind legs quite
surprisingly; the child, having pity on them, was about to cast some
morsels of food to them before she tasted it herself, hungry though she
was, when their master interposed.

'No, my dear, no, not an atom from anybody's hand but mine if you
please. That dog,' said Jerry, pointing out the old leader of the
troop, and speaking in a terrible voice, 'lost a halfpenny to-day. He
goes without his supper.'

The unfortunate creature dropped upon his fore-legs directly, wagged
his tail, and looked imploringly at his master.

'You must be more careful, Sir,' said Jerry, walking coolly to the
chair where he had placed the organ, and setting the stop. 'Come here.
Now, Sir, you play away at that, while we have supper, and leave off if
you dare.'

The dog immediately began to grind most mournful music. His master
having shown him the whip resumed his seat and called up the others,
who, at his directions, formed in a row, standing upright as a file of
soldiers.

'Now, gentlemen,' said Jerry, looking at them attentively. 'The dog
whose name's called, eats. The dogs whose names an't called, keep
quiet. Carlo!'

The lucky individual whose name was called, snapped up the morsel
thrown towards him, but none of the others moved a muscle. In this
manner they were fed at the discretion of their master. Meanwhile the
dog in disgrace ground hard at the organ, sometimes in quick time,
sometimes in slow, but never leaving off for an instant. When the
knives and forks rattled very much, or any of his fellows got an
unusually large piece of fat, he accompanied the music with a short
howl, but he immediately checked it on his master looking round, and
applied himself with increased diligence to the Old Hundredth.

CHAPTER 19

Supper was not yet over, when there arrived at the Jolly Sandboys two
more travellers bound for the same haven as the rest, who had been
walking in the rain for some hours, and came in shining and heavy with
water. One of these was the proprietor of a giant, and a little lady
without legs or arms, who had jogged forward in a van; the other, a
silent gentleman who earn