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"Oh, that's the way of it?"

"Yes'm." ssssssssss

I was feeling better, then, but I wished I was out of there, anyway. I

couldn't look up yet. ssssssssss

Well, the woman fell to talking about how hard times was, and how poor

they had to live, and how the rats was as free as if they owned the place,

and so forth, and so on, and then I got easy again. She was right about

the rats. You'd see one stick his nose out of a hole in the corner every

little while. She said she had to have things handy to throw at them when

she was alone, or they wouldn't give her no peace. She showed me a bar

of lead, twisted up into a knot, and said she was a good shot with it

generly, but she'd wrenched her arm a day or two ago, and didn't know

whether she could throw true, now. But she watched for a chance, and

directly she banged away at a rat, but she missed him wide, and said "Ouch!"

it hurt her arm so. Then she told me to try for the next one. I wanted

to be getting away before the old man got back, but of course I didn't let on.

I got the thing, and the first rat that showed his nose I let drive, and if he'd

a stayed where he was he'd a been a tolerable sick rat. She said that that was first-

rate, and she reckoned I would hive the next one. She went and got the lump

of lead and fetched it back and brought along a hank of yarn, which she wanted

me to help her with. I held up my two hands and she put the hank over them

and went on talking about her and her husband's matters. But she broke off

to say:

"Keep your eye on the rats. You better have the lead in your lap, handy."

So she dropped the lump into my lap, just at that moment, and I clapped my

legs together on it and she went on talking. But only about a minute. Then

she took off the hank and looked me straight in the face, but very pleasant, and

says:

"Come, now -- what's your real name?"

"Wh-what, mum?"

"What's your real name? Is it Bill, or Tom, or Bob? -- or what is it?"

I reckon I shook like a leaf, and I didn't know hardly what to do. But I

says:

ssssssssss

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