"Vell, now, you would not believe us; but it vas all true. That 'ere
bundle vas the voman's child,--I s'pose an unnatural von by the gemman;
she let us into the 'ouse on condition we helped her off vith it. And,
blow me tight, but ve paid ourselves vel for our trouble. That 'ere
voman vas a strange cretur; they say she had been a lord's blowen; but
howsomever, she was as 'ot-'eaded and hodd as if she had been. There vas
old Nick's hown row made on the matter, and the revard for our
[de]tection vas so great, that as you vas not much tried yet, Harry
thought it best for to take you vith 'im down to the country, and told
you as 'ow it vas all a flam about the child in the bundle!"

"Faith," said Ned, "I believed him readily enough; and poor Harry was
twisted shortly after, and I went into Ireland for safety, where I stayed
two years,--and deuced good claret I got there!"

"So, vhiles you vas there," continued Dummie, "poor Judy, the voman,
died,--she died in this very 'ouse, and left the horphan to the
[af]fection of Piggy Lob, who was 'nation fond of it surely! Oh! but I
'members vot a night it vas ven poor Judy died; the vind vistled like
mad, and the rain tumbled about as if it had got a holiday; and there the
poor creature lay raving just over 'ed of this room we sits in! Laus-a-
me, vat a sight it vas!"

Here Dummie paused, and seemed to recall in imagination the scene he had
witnessed; but over the mind of Long Ned a ray of light broke slowly.

"Whew!" said he, lifting up his forefinger, "whew! I smell a rat; this
stolen child, then, was no other than Paul. But, pray, to whom did the
house belong? For that fact Harry never communicated to me. I only
heard the owner was a lawyer, or parson, or some such thing."