afterwards I couldn't clearly remember what they were. And then I
found myself walking across the turnips with parson, and I was
telling him of the glories of the deep that I had seen through the
window of the ship. He turned on me severely. "If I were you, John
Simmons," he said, "I should go straight home to bed." He has a way
of putting things that wouldn't occur to an ordinary man, has parson,
and I did as he told me.

Well, next day it came on to blow, and it blew harder and harder,
till about eight o'clock at night I heard a noise and looked out into
the garden. I dare say you won't believe me, it seems a bit tall even
to me, but the wind had lifted the thatch of my pigsty into the
widow's garden a second time. I thought I wouldn't wait to hear what
widow had to say about it, so I went across the green to the "Fox and
Grapes", and the wind was so strong that I danced along on tiptoe
like a girl at the fair. When I got to the inn landlord had to help
me shut the door; it seemed as though a dozen goats were pushing
against it to come in out of the storm.

"It's a powerful tempest," he said, drawing the beer. "I hear there's
a chimney down at Dickory End."

"It's a funny thing how these sailors know about the weather," I
answered. "When Captain said he was going tonight, I was thinking it
would take a capful of wind to carry the ship back to sea, but now
here's more than a capful."

"Ah, yes," said landlord, "it's tonight he goes true enough, and,
mind you, though he treated me handsome over the rent, I'm not sure
it's a loss to the village. I don't hold with gentrice who fetch