The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-18

Trains leave from Contra dcNOt. cOl
fish, and lays it upon the table, then pick
ing up her basket, stops to indulge i'm
short gossip, as is the trick of women
of her sort and presently she went her
way. 1 cleared the table, and then turned
to gut the cod. 1t was time that job was
DONE l got n tin pail and knife and
went 10 work Just as l had ripped open
the belly of the fish. Jim Roach's cat
came lurching into my door tail erect,
body fawniug the doorway. l took out a
handful of gut and chucked it to the cat,
who, instead of eating it at my door,
bolted across the yard with 1t into Roach's
house.
Il went on with my job of cleaning and
Scraping, trying to think of a party likely
TO buy this fine cod when in the midst
of my thoughts, there arose such noise
of words in the yard that l ran out TO
see what the matter was. Roach was a
boatman, and he stood near his door hold
ing something in his hand. Two or three
persons had gathered around him. and
they were all talking with excitement
why I'm blowed, Steve sings out
Roach, when he sets eyes on me. If this
here arn't the identical ring. according to
the description, that your gent lost
" Let me see it, says /, drawing close.
Look at it as it lies in my hand says
he, backing.
gentleman had described it, the ring that
George Chubb had lifted on the armng
of his lead AMI let fall again.
" How did YOU come by IT.? said /.
" That there cat o. mine,i says he point
ing to the beast that was indoors eating
my fish's CUTS, brought it into my house
" 1t was in my fish, then, says /, and
it's my properly
" No fear! cries he, pocketing the ring;
| what's brought into a mans house is
| his. know the law. No use talking,
mate. I'm agoin' round with this ring to
claim the reward.
Just then along comes George Chubb.
He sings out as a man in a hurry:
" Steve Mary had no business to return
that cod. It's no use her saying it can't
be paid for. Here's the shillin' If l had to
eat my boot for the next meal
HE was red IN the face, and seemed to
! have come from a quarrel.
" The cod was returned and it's my
cod says l. I guted him, and inside was
found the ring the gent's offered fifty
guineas for
Where IS it?' shouted George, looking
all round the yard.
" I chucKcd some of the fred gut, con-
tinued l, to Roach's cat, whotran with it
and the ring inside of the gut into Roach S
house. and the bloomed ring is now in
Roachs pocket
SHOW 'un,' shouts George.
Roach pulled the ring out and gave him
a view of It.
ut was in my cod, though bawled
George, after fetching a deep breath of
astonishment. That there ring belongs
to me as by rights of being the owner
of the fish 1t was found in
." That be jiggered, says I. o'u'
well, l think we stood for ten minutes
jawing, rowing, arguing, until at last
it came to Roach saying that as he was
he Cf he Nil ha xs,aa
to stand there all day reasoning whose
cod the fish had been, since his cat had
made the gut with the ring in Ii hisn, and
he was going up town to Inspector Bum
to lodge the ring and claim the reward.
" Blamed IL you go without me- says
George.
"Or without me- says l, feeling as If
I could screw the scaramouch's head off
80 l pulled my little green door TO and
the three of us walked up to Inspector
Bum, to whom we told our yarn.
THE inspector took possession of the
ring and said he would write that night
to the gentleman, who, sure enough,
came down next day to claim the ring. He
arrived in the afternoon, and bet your
boots sir, that me and George and T. 9TH
err weren't far off. We were called into
the Office and the gentleman shook hands
with me, and his face shone as though
he had been made happy for life.
"'You are three claimants said he
Two certainly deserve a share; ! don't
see where you come in Roach.
" The cat might ha' swallowed the
ring said Roach, and ha' killed herself,
and the ring would ha' been more lost
then than when Il was at the bottom
My cat ratified the ring on the stones, and
that was finding 1t, / guess, for 1t had
been lost until then
This was pretty powerful reasoning.
The inspector seemed impressed, and I
hove curse at the boatman for mis- read
mess.
"'Wil you leave the dividing OF this
money amongst you TO me? said the gen.
tleman.
'Sartainly,' George and I shouted.
Then said the gentleman, looking at
Roach's darkening face. i shall give
twenty-five guineas TO my friend Stephen
Fox, fifteen guineas to George Chubb and
ten guineas to the cat
II and George were satisfied; Roach
wasn't. He kicked up such a shindy that
the gentleman threatened to give him
nothing at all. and to leave him to find
his remedy by going to law. This threat
proved too much; Roach was a sensible
man at bottom and knew when he was
well Off and so the matter ended. A good
fish yarn do yer call 1t, sir? True, all
the same and let me tell you. as one
who has wandered upon the ocean, that
more's left in the sea than ever comes
out of It,"
(The End)
An Oddly of Aberdeen.