“He ’adn’t been in Claybury more than a week afore he said ’ow surprised ’e was to see ’ow pore dumb animals was treated.  He made a little speech about it one evening up at the schoolroom, and, arter he ’ad finished, he up and offered to give a prize of a gold watch that used to belong to ’is dear sister wot loved animals, to the one wot was the kindest to ’em afore he left the place.

“If he’d ha’ known Claybury men better ‘e wouldn’t ha’ done it.  The very next morning Bill Chambers took ’is baby’s milk for the cat, and smacked ’is wife’s ’ead for talking arter he’d told ’er to stop.  Henery Walker got into trouble for leaning over Charlie Stubbs’s fence and feeding his chickens for ’im, and Sam Jones’s wife had to run off ’ome to ’er mother ’arf-dressed because she had ’appened to overlay a sick rabbit wot Sam ’ad taken to bed with ’im to keep warm.

“People used to stop animals in the road and try and do ’em a kindness—­ especially when Mr. Bunnett was passing—­and Peter Gubbins walked past ’is house one day with ole Mrs. Broad’s cat in ’is arms.  A bad-tempered old cat it was, and, wot with Peter kissing the top of its ’ead and calling of it Tiddleums, it nearly went out of its mind.

“The fust time Mr. Bunnett see Bob Pretty was about a week arter he’d offered that gold watch.  Bob was stooping down very careful over something in the hedge, and Mr. Bunnett, going up quiet-like behind ’im, see ’im messing about with a pore old toad he ’ad found, with a smashed leg.

“‘Wots the matter with it?’ ses Mr. Bunnett.

“Bob didn’t seem to hear ’im.  He was a-kneeling on the ground with ’is ’ead on one side looking at the toad; and by and by he pulled out ’is pocket’an’kercher and put the toad in it, as if it was made of egg-shells, and walked away.

“‘Wot’s the matter with it?’ ses Mr. Bunnett, a’most trotting to keep up with ’im.

“’Got it’s leg ‘urt in some way, pore thing,’ ses Bob.  ’I want to get it ‘ome as soon as I can and wash it and put it on a piece o’ damp moss.  But I’m afraid it’s not long for this world.’

“Mr. Bunnett said it did ’im credit, and walked home alongside of ’im talking.  He was surprised to find that Bob hadn’t ’eard anything of the gold watch ’e was offering, but Bob said he was a busy, ’ard-working man and didn’t ’ave no time to go to hear speeches or listen to tittle-tattle.

“‘When I’ve done my day’s work,’ he ses, ’I can always find a job in the garden, and arter that I go in and ’elp my missis put the children to bed.  She ain’t strong, pore thing, and it’s better than wasting time and money up at the “Cauliflower."’

“He ‘ad a lot o’ talk with Mr. Bunnett for the next day or two, and when ’e went round with the toad on the third day as lively and well as possible the old gen’leman said it was a miracle.  And so it would ha’ been if it had been the same toad.

“He took a great fancy to Bob Pretty, and somehow or other they was always dropping acrost each other.  He met Bob with ’is dog one day—­a large, ugly brute, but a’most as clever as wot Bob was ’imself.  It stood there with its tongue ’anging out and looking at Bob uneasy-like out of the corner of its eye as Bob stood a-patting of it and calling it pet names.