Joyce shook her head.
'You have never seen anything of the kind?'
'It be just one o' vaither's pack o' lies,' answered the candid Joyce; 'vaither hev been lying finely since Ophir began. He never showed me nothing like that; he never gived me no silver money. He never had none to give till Ophir began.'
'You are very positive.'
'If you doubt, I'll say, Blast me blue——'
'That will do,' interrupted Herring; 'your word will suffice without the blue blazes to colour it.'
The old man had lied about the shekel. He had not given it to the girl, he had therefore probably not found it at all, but it had been given him by those who had put the story into his mouth.
'I'll ax vaither if you likes,' said Joyce; 'he'll tell me, all right.'
'I do not think he will. That is all I wanted to know, my dear girl.'
'I say,' said Joyce, 'doant'y go off now right on end. Sit you down a mite here in the sun and have a chat. I never see nothing of you now, not as it used to be when I were ill and scatt to bits. I a'most wish my airms was broke again, that you could come and see me ivery day. That were beautiful.'