MY OLD FRIEND NICK 59 



For two or three days Nick worked tremen- 

 dously, and then appeared at my office and ob- 

 tained, not without some difficulty, a further 

 stipend for the purpose of procuring setters and 

 eggs. Having bled me freely he departed in great 

 good humor, remarking as he closed the door, 

 * 'Enry, we'll fill the 'ole bloomin' town wi' 

 cheek ins." 



The next day he passed the office driving 

 Johnny's old white mare, hitched to a rattle cart 

 containing an immense dry-goods box, upon 

 which Nick was perched like Punch on the top 

 of a circus van. He was followed by Johnny's 

 savage dog, which took advantage of the day 

 of freedom to pitch into all strange dogs ; and 

 Nick was obliged frequently to climb from his 

 perch and with a cart-stake to rush into a whirl- 

 wind of fighting curs and a medley of objur- 

 gatory sounds something like this : " 'I theer ! 'I ! 

 blawst tha bloomin' heyes, ugr-r-r-yi-yi-ugr-r- 

 r-raugh-o-raugh-thump-whack-down tha Tige- 

 yi-yi-ugr-r-r-raugh-thump-whack-yi-yi-dom tha 

 hide coom awa noo!" And then, having tem- 

 porarily restored peace, he would climb on his 

 van and proceed until the next interruption, when 

 he would again descend, and with the assistance 

 of the dogs rehearse the entire programme. 



Toward evening, as I was coming out of the 

 office, I heard a most terrific rattling, barking, 



