The soul sleeping or dreaming away to God suggested an inquiry into the Gipsy idea of the nature of spirits.

“You believe in mullos (ghosts), Puro.  Can everybody see them, I wonder?”

“Avo, rya, avo.  Every mush can dick mullos if it’s their cammoben to be dickdus.  But ’dusta critters can dick mullos whether the mullos kaum it or kek.  There’s grais an’ mylas can dick mullos by the ratti; an’ yeckorus I had a grai that was trasher ’dree a tem langs the rikkorus of a drum, pash a boro park where a mush had been mullered.  He prastered a mee pauli, but pash a cheirus he welled apopli to the wardos.  A chinned jucko or a wixen can hunt mullos.  Avali, they chase sperits just the sim as anything ’dree the world—­dan’r ’em, koor ’em, chinger ’em—­’cause the dogs can’t be dukkered by mullos.”

In English:  “Yes, sir, yes.  Every man can see ghosts if it is their will to be seen.  But many creatures can see ghosts whether the ghosts wish it or not.  There are horses and asses (which) can see ghosts by the night; and once I had a horse that was frightened in a place by the side of a road, near a great park where a man had been murdered.  He ran a mile behind, but after a while came back to the waggons.  A cut (castrated) dog or a vixen can hunt ghosts.  Yes, they chase spirits just the same as anything in the world—­bite ’em, fight ’em, tear ’em—­because dogs cannot be hurt by ghosts.”

“Dogs,” I replied, “sometimes hunt men as well as ghosts.”

“Avo; but men can fool the juckals avree, and men too, and mullos can’t.”

“How do they kair it?”

“If a choramengro kaums to chore a covva when the snow is apre the puvius, he jals yeck piro, palewavescro.  If you chiv tutes piros pal-o-the-waver—­your kusto piro kaired bongo, jallin’ with it a rikkorus, an’ the waver piro straightus—­your patteran’ll dick as if a bongo-herroed mush had been apre the puvius. (I jinned a mush yeckorus that had a dui chokkas kaired with the dui tachabens kaired bongo, to jal a-chorin’ with.) But if you’re pallered by juckals, and pet lully dantymengro adree the chokkas, it’ll dukker the sunaben of the juckos.

“An’ if you chiv lully dantymengro where juckos kair panny, a’ter they soom it they won’t jal adoi chichi no moreus, an’ won’t mutter in dovo tan, and you can keep it cleanus.”

That is, “If a thief wants to steal a thing when the snow is on the ground, he goes with one foot behind the other.  If you put your feet one behind the other—­your right foot twisted, going with it to one side, and the other foot straight—­your trail will look as if a crooked-legged man had been on the ground. (I knew a man once that had a pair of shoes made with the two heels reversed, to go a-thieving with.) But if you are followed by dogs, and put red pepper in your shoes, it will spoil the scent of the dogs.

“And if you throw red pepper where dogs make water, they will not go there any more after they smell it, and you can keep it clean.”