He sez, ‘Did you ’ear anythin’ last night?’
‘Yes,’ sez Ashypelt, ‘there come a lot o’ greedy fellows ’ere, an’ smoked all my ’bacca an’ cracked all my nuts off me.’
So ’ee sez, ‘Come on down, Ashypelt, an’ ’ave your breakfast.’ ’Ee takes ’im to the new ’ouse to ’ave ’is breakfast. But after ’ee’d ’ad ’is breakfast, ‘Now, Ashypelt,’ ’ee sez, ‘I will give you another fifty to stop another night.’
Well, poor Ashypelt, never ’avin’ no money, ’ee sed, Yes, ’ee would do it. Well, ’ee took ’im, as usual, up an’ down the garden agen next day with ’im, taking ’im up an’ down the garden tel eleven o’clock come the next night.
‘So now, Ashypelt, my boy, it’s time for me to take you up to your room,’ ’ee sez. ‘I’ll give you a little extra ’bacca to-night. I’ll give you a pound, an’ a bigger bag o’ nuts—altogether it might be a gohanna [guano] bag o’ nuts—an’ a pound o’ ’bacca.’
So ’ee fastened ’em into the room before Ashypelt comes, an’ ’ee leaves ’im sittin’ ’down comfortable to ’isself ’avin’ a bit o’ a smoke o’ ’is ’bacca. But ’ee ’eard one o’ the terriblest noises ’ee ever ’eard in ’is life shoutin’ blue wilful murders, but ’ee couldn’t see nuthin’. This was at the hour o’ twelve. Bangin’ one of ’is doors wide open, in comes a man to ’im with ’is throat cut from ’ere to there. Ashypelt axed ’im to come an’ ’ave a pipe o’ ’bacca, an’ to ’ave a warm. Well, poor Ashypelt never seein’ nuthin’, ’ee wasn’t frightened a bit.
So the man sez to ’im, ‘Now, Ashypelt, my boy, I see you are not frightened. Come with me, an’ I’ll show you where I lies. My brother ’as killed me—it’s my brother what gives you this money to stop ’ere. You come with me, Ashypelt, down these steps.’ [[240]]
He took ’im down steps, down steps, down steps. Ashypelt axed ’im ’ow much further ’ee ’ad to go, an’ it ’ad been very dark goin’ down these steps. Ashypelt couldn’t see ’is way, but when ’ee got to the bottom there was a very fine light.
‘Now, Ashypelt,’ ’ee sez, ‘come with me,’ ’ee sez. ‘I’m that man as you struck in the room an’ knocked all to pieces. Now, Ashypelt, I’ll make you a gentleman for life if you’ll do one thing for me. Come along o’ me,’ ’ee sez to Ashypelt. Then ’ee sez, ‘Lift up that flag,’ ’ee sez.
‘No, sir,’ sez Ashypelt, ‘I can’t lift it up,’ ’ee sez to ’im; ‘but lift it you.’