The Democratic advocate., 1905-10-07


Sam Jones.
Bob Portly don't know everything,
ses Dicky Weed
"I'll bet you what you like there Il be
some more of you shot, ses Bob Portly,
in a temper. "Now then
az Ow much Il you bet, Bob?' ses Sam
Jones, with wink at the others.
Il can see you winking, Sam Jones,
ses Bob Portly, ''but III do more than
bet-the last bet won is still owing to
me-now look ere I'll pay you sixpence
week all the time you re beating if YOU
promise to give me arf of wot you get if
you re shot can say fairer than that.
''Will you give me sixpence a week
too p ses Heuery Walker, jumping up.
AZ will, ses Bob, land anybody else
that likes. And wot' 5 more, I'll pay in
advance. Fust sixpence now.
Claybury ave never been backward when
there been money to be made easy, and
they all wanted to join Bob Portly' Club,
as he called it. But fust of all e asked
for pen and ink, and then he got Smith
the landlord. being scholard, to write out
a paper for them to sign. Henery Walker
was the fust to write is name, and then
Sam Jones, Peter Gubbins, Ralph Thorn
son, Jem Hall and Walter Bell wrote theirs.
Bob stopped EN- then and said six ud be
enough to 90 on with, and then e paid up
the sixpences and wished EN- luck.
Wot they liked a most as well as the
sixpences was the idea o getting the bet
ter Bob Portly. As | said afore, he
was a poaeher, and that artful that up to
that time nobody 'ad ever got the better
of i'm.
They made so much fun of im the next
night that Bob turned sulky aud went of
ONE. and for two or three nights he ardly
showed his face; aud the next shoe; they
al he went off 10 Wickham and nobody
saw i'm ali day.
That very day Henery Walker was shot.
Several gentlemen fired q, rabbit that
was started, and the next thing they knew
Henery Walker was lying on the ground
calling out that Is leg ad been shot off
He made more fuss than Bill Chambers
mos,. specially when they dropped im
of hurdle carrying him ONE, and the
things he said to Doctor Green for rubbing
his ands A. he came into the bed room was
lisgraeeful
The fust Bob Portly card Of it, was up
At the Cauliaower at eight o clock that
evening and he set down j. beer and Sc,
of 10 sce Henery as fas, as is legs could
carry im Henery was asleep when c
gos there, and, DO al he could. Bob Portly
coaldnt wake in till be sat down gentle
on Is bad leg.
ats ny me, Old pal, he ses snil-
iug at i'm as Henery woke up and shouted
At im to get up
IIeuery Walker was going to say some
thing bad. but c thought better Of 1t, aud
he lay there arf bursting with rage,
'.Td quite forgot you was on my Clab
TIL Smith resainded me Of it. ses Bob
Don you take farshing less than ten
pounds, Henery. ses Bob.
Henery Walker shni Is eyes again. Il
forgo, To ;ell yoa made up my mind this
morning NOT to belong to your Club any
more, Bob. be ses
why didn't you come and tell me,
Henery. instead Of leaving il till it was too
late 2 sss Bob, shaking his cad At him.
II shah want all that money, ses
Hcncry, in weak VOICE. II might ave
TO have a wooden leg, Bob
Don meet troubles arfway, Henery,
- Bob, in kind voice. I've no doubt
Mr. Sutton u throw in a wooden leg il
yoa want ii. and look here, if he does |
woa touch you for arf Of it.
Tie said good night to Henery and went
of, and when Mn. Walker went up to see
ow Henery was getting on he was carry
iug on 80 alarming that she eOuldn't do
nothing with ini.
He was laid up for over week, though
it my opinion he WASH much hurt, and
the trouble was that nobody knew which
gentleman al shot i'm Mr. Sutton talked
il over with them. aud at last, arter good
deal o iroahle. and Henery pulling up is
trousers and showing them Is leg I'LL they
was fair sick Of the sight Of it, they paid
i'm ten pounds the same as they ad Bill.
/, took Bob POrtly two days TO get Is
arf, bu, he kep, very quiet about it, not
wishing to make fuss in the village for
fear Mr.. Sutton should get TO hear of the
Club At last told Henery Walker that
c was going To Wickham TO see Is lawyer
about il, and arter Smith the landlord ad
read the paper to Henery, and explained
ow he very likely ave TO pay more than
the whole ten pounds, e gave Bob his art
and said be never wanted TO see i'm agin
as long as ne lived.
Bob stood treat up at the Caulifower
that night and said ow bad he d been
treated. The tears stood in Is eyes
most, and at last said that if e thought
there Was going to be any more fuss of that
kind he wind up the Club.
ats the best thing you can do, ses
Sam Jones. I'm not going to belong to
it any longer. 50 give you notice. If so
be as | get shot, want the money for my
self
Me too, seS Pete Gubbins. Ii ud
fair break my art to give Bob Portly Eve
pounds. I'd sooner give it to my wife,
All the other chaps said the same thing,
but Bob pointed out to them that they ad
taken their sixpenees on y the night afore
and they must stay in for the week. He
said that was the law. Some of EN- talked
about giving im is sixpences back, but
Bob said if they did they must pay up all
the sixpences they had ad for those weeks.
The end of it was, they said they'd stay
in for that week and not moment longer.
The next day, Sam Jones and Peter
Gubbius altered their minds. Sam found
couple o shilIings that his wife ad hid
den in her Sunday bonnet, and Peter Cub
bins opened is boy 5 money box TO see ow
much there was in it, They came up to
the Caulifower to pay Bob their eighteen
pences, but he wasn't there, and when
they went TO is house Mrs Portly said as
ow he gone off to Wickham. So they
ad to spend the money on beer instead.
That was Tuesday, and things went
on all right till Friday, when Mr.. Sutton
'ad another shoot The birds was getting
scarce, and the gentleman that anxious to
shoot them there was no olding them