, and 'is
garden was a disgrace. He'd chuck down any rubbish in it: old bones, old
tins, bits of an old bucket, anything to make it untidy. He used to larf
at 'em awful about their gardens and about being took up by the parson's
wife. Nobody ever see 'im do any work, real 'ard work, but the smell
from 'is place at dinner-time was always nice, and I believe that he
knew more about game than the parson hisself did.

"It was the day arter this one I'm speaking about, the 16th o' June,
that the trouble all began, and it came about in a very eggstrordinary
way. George English, a quiet man getting into years, who used when 'e
was younger to foller the sea, and whose only misfortin was that 'e was
a brother-in-law o' Bob Pretty's, his sister marrying Bob while 'e was
at sea and knowing nothing about it, 'ad a letter come from a mate of
his who 'ad gone to Australia to live. He'd 'ad letters from Australia
before, as we all knew from Miss Wicks at the post-office, but this one
upset him altogether. He didn't seem like to know what to do about it.

"While he was wondering Bill Chambers passed. He always did pass
George's 'ouse about that time in the evening, it being on 'is way 'ome,
and he saw George standing at 'is gate with a letter in 'is 'and looking
very puzzled.

"'Evenin', George,' ses Bill.

"'Evenin',' ses George.

"'Not bad news, I 'ope?' ses Bill, noticing 'is manner, and thinking it
was strange.

[Illustration: Not bad news I 'ope 086]

"'No,' ses George. 'I've just 'ad a very eggstrordinary letter from
Australia,' he ses, 'that's all.'

"Bill Chambers was always a very inquisitive sort o' man, and he stayed
and talked to George until George, arter fust making him swear oaths
that 'e wouldn't tell a soul, took 'im inside and showed 'im the letter.

"It was more like a story-book than a letter. George's mate, John Biggs
by name, wrote to say that an uncle of his who had just died, on
'is deathbed told him that thirty years ago he 'ad been in this very
village, staying at this 'ere very Cauliflower, whose beer we're
drinking now. In the night, when everybody was asleep, he got up
and went quiet-like and buried a bag of five hundred and seventeen
sovereigns and one half-sovereign in one of the cottage gardens till
'e could come for it agin. He didn't say 'ow he come by the money, and,
when Bill spoke about that, George English said that, knowing the man,
he was afraid 'e 'adn't come by it honest, but anyway