Collectanea. 83
" So Tom took the kettle an' went off to the well, an' dipped it in ; but 'e felt somethin' a pullin' an' pushin' him till it got 'is 'ead right under water as 'twere tryin' to drown him. O' course 'e struggled and kicked till 'e got 'is 'ead up again, an' then 'e looked round to see who 'twere, but there — there war'nt no one.
"'E couldn't see no one, but in two minutes somethin' had 'im again and got 'im under the water, an' all this time 'e couldn't get the kettle filled anyway. Three times 'e were took an' dipped in the well, an' it were a wonder 'e weren't drowned, for 'twas all 'e could do to keep 'is 'ead up. At last 'e got the kettle filled an' went back to the cottage.
" There was the old 'ooman still brewin' in the saucepan an' mutterin' to herself; but when she saw 'im that she thought was drowned come to the door with the kettle full she stopped all of a sudden an' looked at 'im that awful, an' a sort of a horrid laugh came out of the saucepan, an' the lid jumped off an' flew right up the chimney so as all the kitchen was filled with smoke an' the most awful smell. Then 'e knowed she 'ad been brewin' spells to kill 'im, so 'e dropped the kettle an' took to 'is 'eels, an' all up the road 'e could 'ear 'er cursin' 'im, an' I take it 'e was glad to get 'ome. But 'e never went after that girl agen."
Mrs. Briton is one of the few people from whom you can get ghost stories first hand ; they are rather vague, but she believes in them implicitly.
" One day," she said, " our cattle got lost an' our two boys went out to look for them. They was out for hours an' hours, an' towards evening Bill Roberts brought the cattle home, but 'e 'adn't seen them boys. So I began to get anxious like, an' I went out all over the place huntin' an' callin' for them. At last it got quite dark, an' I was in an awful state o' mind : I put a lamp in the window to guide them if they was to come back, an' went out with my father to look for them again. We was just goin' past the house of a wicked, wicked old man what had just died (they told all kinds of stories about him, some said as 'e had killed 'is own wife) ; as I was sayin' we was passin' this house, an' I saw just beside me a big, big, black dog, as large as a calf, an' 'is eyes shone like lumps of fire. My father hit at it with 'is stick, an', would you believe me, the stick went right through it, an' 'twas still there !
" Bye-an'-bye, when we'd passed the house, the dog disappeared.
" ' That's a sure token,' says my father, ' that them boys is in the river ! '
G 2
