24 WITH THE WOODLANDERS. 



This I at once acknowledged, at the same time 

 telling him I did not feel particularly anxious to 

 know muc% about the matter in question. 



" I don't want to 'fend [offend] ye," he persisted ; 

 " I want to tell ye 'bout them 'ere pigs o' mine 

 what was witched. Now, look here, I killed my 

 pig and bought another ; but, ye see, that 'ere fresh 

 pig died the week arter I bought un. I goes an' gits 

 another pig, puts un in the werry same sty, and he 

 dies too." 



" Did you lime-white your sty out after you had 

 lost your first pig ? " 



"No; what for? what's lime-white tu do with 

 pigs? never did lime-white 'em, don't mean to; 

 them 'ere two pigs was witched. I went to the 

 wise woman you dunno who she is, an' I ain't 

 a-goin' tu tell ye; but she pinted out a hook- 

 nosed old varmint o' a woman as lived in a shanty 

 all by herself up in the moor. Her place was 

 close to a spring, where she could come an' dip 

 her pitcher. If she'd bin 'bliged tu cross runnin' 

 water, she couldn't ha' lived there : runnin' water 

 takes all the powers o' mischief out o' them sort 

 o' cattle. Well, the wise woman told me that if 



