So the next night ’ee gave ’im very near ’alf a pound o’ ’bacca to smoke an’ a bigger bag o’ nuts. So about the hour o’ twelve o’clock ’ee turns round to the door again, an’ there was five or six of these ghostses came in to ’im this time an’ sperrits. So there was one stood up in the corner in ’is skeleton. There was five more runnin’ up and down the room pitity-pat, pitity-pat.
‘Come up to the fire,’ Ashypelt sez, ‘an’ warm yous. Yous looks very cold all runnin’ about naked,’ ’ee sed. ’Ee sez, ‘There’s some ’bacca there an’ some pipes. ’Ave a smoke apiece.’
So this poor fellow stood up in the corner.
‘You come ’ere,’ sed Ashypelt; ‘you looks very cold, you’re nuthin’ but bones.’
But ’ee gave Ashypelt no answer. So Ashypelt comes up to ’im, to pull ’im out up to the fire, an’ ’ee ’appened to give ’im a bit of a touch round the neck—somewhere under the jaw, I think it was—as ’ee wouldn’t come for ’im. This fellow tumbled all into pieces, in small bits o’ pieces about ’alf an inch, tumbled all into pieces when Ashypelt ’it ’im.
‘Now, Ashypelt,’ sez one of ’em, ‘if you don’t put that fellow up agen as you fun’ ’im, we’ll devour you alive.’
Poor Ashypelt got fixing one little bone on top of another, an’ one little bone on top of another, but ’ee got tumblin’ them down as quick as ’ee was fixing them very near. [[239]]Well, ’ee fixed an’ fixed at last tel it come very near one o’clock that ’ee was bein’ with ’im, but ’ee got ’em together agen. So away they all goes just about two o’clock an’ leaves ’im; an’ when ’ee come to look for the ’bacca, every morsel ’ad gone, ’ee never ’ad one pipeful.
‘Well,’ ’ee sez, ‘they’re a greedy lot o’ fellows, them is,’ ’ee sez. ‘They served me worse agen to-night,’ ’ee sez. So ’ee comes an’ sits ’imself down completely by ’is own fire agen.
Next morning at the hour o’ six o’clock the master comes for ’im agen. ‘Are you alive, Ashypelt?’ ’ee sez.
‘Oh! yes,’ ’ee sez, ‘I’m alive.’