A Farmer’s Life 
all his money on the Saturday. He didn’t want 
It particular, he said. But Sunday afternoon I 
was just dozin’ off for a nap, when there come a 
rap at the door. The dogs barked and I won- 
dered who ’twas at that time o’ day. ”Iwas 
this man. He was sorry, he said, but he’d heard 
from home and had got trouble there and must 
go and see about it. How long would he be 
away? I asked him. About a fortnight, he 
said. ‘But,’ I said, “the push o’ the work ’ll 
be pretty near through then. I’d ha’ kep’ you 
on till Michaelmas, if you’d stay and help me 
now.’ No, he must go, he said. ‘ Well,’ I said, 
“of course you do as you like.’ So I paid him 
the rest of his money, and he’d got his kit in his 
hand, and off he went and I thought no more 
about him. Sat down and finished my nap, 
I did. 
“But bless me! When we come to work 
Monday mornin’ I found I’d got the wife left 
on my hands! However, she didn’t seem to 
take much notice. She said she’d like to keep 
on. She should take care he never had the chance 
to leave her again. . . . But the rummest part 
of it all was that the very next day the man went 
and took a job for three or four days for my neigh- 
bour here, not two mile away. And _ he’ve 
been working for one or another ever since— 
never more than two or three days at a time. 
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Seer ete TEI eat ne ee ee ee 
