“You must impress it on Martha, I’ll tell her myself, that you are dangerously ill and every day I’ll drive up myself to see you. You must tell Martha to mind she says nothing about it in the village, and then I suppose it’ll be all over the Country in no time. And if anybody asks where Ben is, he’s gone on his rounds. Now do you understand?”
I did anyway, and I pressed his hand gratefully.
“It may be a fortnight before Ben’s fit to be moved, and then, mark you, he must be moved, and for my credit’s sake, if for no other reason, not a soul out of this house must know Ben’s within a hundred miles of this.”
“God bless you, doctor. Aw’ve been wondering and wondering ever sin’ ’Si’ brought him home, whatever we should say to th’ neighbours. An’ yo’ve found a way all in a minnit. See what it is to be eddicated. Aw’ll be i’ bed afore yo’re out o’ th’ house. An’ mind yo’ insense it into our William, for he’s that stupid he’ll spoil it all. An’, for sure, aw don’t feel very well; it’s my heart, doctor.”
And I think my mother came as near winking as ever she did since she made lovers’ signals across the pews, when my father was courting her.
Dr Dean.
CHAPTER IX.
MY Father and Siah left home that very day with the waggon. It was given out in the little village that I was gone too, and it was soon town’s talk that Mrs. Bamforth was sick and that Dr. Dean was visiting her twice a day. ’Siah came up to see me in bed before he started.
“Th’ mester’s awful put out,” he told me. “Aw heard thi mother askin’ him if he weren’t bahn to come up an’ say good–bye to thee, Ben. But he said nowt. Tha’s put his back up gradely this time, lad, an’ I expect aw’st have a roughish time on it missen. But hard words an’ foul looks break no bones, an’ aw’d rather be i’ Macclesfield wi’ Awd Harry hissen,’ just nah, nor at wom among th’ Luds. No more sojerin’ for me, Ben. My yed’s fair stunned wi’ th’ din. An’ ne’er thee mind about thi father. He’ll come rahnd, an’ then he’ll ma’ it up to thee as if he’d been i’ fault hissen. By gow, tha has getten a arm, to be sure. It looks like three pund o’ lites, and they’d best keep th’ cat out o’ th’ room when th’ar asleep, or ’oo’l be at thee, sure as God made little apples.”