The Keeper's Story

Therc is ut nvuch honor among regular poaohers. They are very often ready to split open anotner, though when they aire out in a tr;mir they will stick together, and make desperate worh with the keepers, M everybody knows. But over and over again, "Erom information received," 1 have been able to out-general and overpower tliriLi. Now Grimstone Rotighs has also bcon a pet cover of the squire's nul mine. It is on som e rising ground not f ar Lrom tlie square's school, where all we youngstors wero so wel! taught ; and Lrom that time I bogan to xn to school IJmew every inch of it well. My father could trust me, and uscil tu m nd me to lay down corn tbr the pheasnnts ; anl teil mo to keep my eyes open i'or vermin and so forth ; and ïuany a hult' holiday have I spent in that wood watching the young pheasante running about, and the squirrels a nutting. It is a pretty sight to soo those littlo fellows stripping a hazel, and. if yott don't move you muy even sit under the sume tree and Bee tin-in do it. The ground below is soou covored with crocked shells and unerackcd nuts, but it is of no use of pickxng np these lapt, they are all bad. ILasler Squirral does not gather nuts for any1hi.1v but himself and bis family. But I mui blabbing in my oíd age ; I must get on with my story. The wood covers about twcnty-live acres of ground, on a gentío riso to the top. From the top of the wood stretcnea out Lor man? miles au extensivo moorland and half-cultivated eouatry; at the , and going round nearlytwo of the wood, flows a dep and sluggiab streiim, and at the opposrte lower with just a strip of meadow land between is ;ui ild bridgo with Human foundations, Üiey say, WHEEE FOTO EOAPS Ml'. KT. One of these, on the cover side of the river goes over the moorland to a big town about fifteen miles oif; the other, to tlie h-H, 1cj some lanas of the squire's. On the opposite ono. road goes past the school and my lodgo to the hall and beyond it, and the other to the neighboring town of W . The road up the moorland had formerly gone right through the oi but the squire liad msnap-il to g t it diverted alongsido to the let't, and the old road through the strip of meadow is now nieicly a drive, but trespassers i sionally will use it, as the uew road is reugh and steepish. Now it will bc scen that when poaehei-s out of W have l.-en in the woud they must make for the bridge to get Home, and when 1 happened to be out alone, and heard any disturbance in the wood, I always used to koop near the bridge tofind out who they were, if a strong party, and if only one or two, for a capture, in oase they made for the bridge by the old drive through the meadow; for this being a private road, I COuld iegBliy lo so. But the villains generally got out of the Wood upon the moorland road, and then, tlmt being a public rond, I could not touch them ; but still I had the satisfaction of finding out who the plunderen were. The wood liad nat often been attompted by a strong giilifr, for by ocei;pying in strength the line of the moorland road we could drive them into a corner by the river, or fórce them to make a rush down the drive, in which case we were always roady for them, so that the party was commonly a sniall one. One night, " TROM INFORMATIOX HF.CEIVED," Bill Bevan and I had ]ostcd ourselves close to the bridge on the lcok-out for two hnUdng fellows out of W , whom we expected to hit upon going to or returning from their nefarioug wock. At tliat time I was a stout, strong you&g i'ellow, and did not care tor any man in country in a iruod cause, lie wasbold as a lion, ïauch bigger and strongcr than jnyself', and had helped me to handcuif not a few of the pheasant robbers. We traited til] pas1 two o'clock, and saw and heard nothiu;r ; indeed, we haixlly expceted to do "so ; for the business our friends were to bé out upon, was the limonet on the upper side of the cover l driving in, which is done with little noise unies it be an occasioBal squeak from a haré; and we had watcheci the bridgo carefiilly from a distanoo, while it was Ught, and had not scen them cross it. We therefore at lagt dotermined to giv op, jusl tal;e round the upper side of the cover, and then go off to bed. OX ASUDDEX Wi; EEEABD VOICES talkine in the wood, and the speakers apparently making ('iv the bridge, "Why, they have been there, after all," said Bill; "how could they have gol therc V" "Never mind how they got there," said I; "there they are, and, as luok will have it, are coming down the drive. Keep still, and wi'H c..t,,li 'ein hwa." We ■;lit■■ll quiet under tlie shade of the liedje - the men were still talking and drawing uear. There was not muoh ülit, but the stars were bvight, and by them, when they came within about ten yards, I could distinguish out two friends one laboripg ajpng with a heavy bi his back. "Now, then," said I la a whisper; "takethe ontside one, BUI;" and we each sprang at our man, 1 got a fair h. ld ..i' tho fellow's collar with the bag. lic dropped the bag with a curse, and luiil hold of ïay arm. I instantly found 1 had my work before me, for, lliough I }iad a fair hold of him, TnE FELLOW WAs HALS AS BIQ AGAIN as myself, and cursed and struggled, :iii wrcnched, and at last managed to kiel nis :hin with the heel of' his hob-naile bool 80 vieiously that from pain I L in cl my hold for a moment. My man broke i'rom me, and scized me by the bare throat with one hand, and round the li liiis with the utlicT. Hajf-choked, with : dafeparate efforl I got his flngers from iny throat, ana a secónd aflergol a halfhit on tho chin which daxed Éne. We had now strugglod close to the rivcr, and my friend, who bad been cursing extraordinarily during the fight, said, "l'll pitoh thee into tho rivor." "Do, if you can," said I, setting hold a bit firmor by the collar agam, aiidhitting hiin á good fair blow between the eycs with my flat. His rage waa awful; and, at'ter another Tery violent tussle, he got hold of me foul in somo out-of-thc-wa.y mannor, that 1 cannot repollect, and threw me righi through a thora bush in to tho rivcr. The smarting from the thorns, that ecarred my hands and face woofully, and tlio oold water, and tho shame of being beaten, so enraged me, that I was out of the water as soon as I was in, and jumped back tö the fray, which, from the noise, I judged to be sorious. During the timelhaabeenengaged withmy man, Bill had.tackled the other, and mach inoro gfull] : I'. ir. j ; .si as 1 was Bent lurk and erop into the river, he was km on bis mau's chest and putting on the, culis. He was in the act of oompleting this when the followfreed fröm me came up, slipped his arm round Bill'sneok, and prooeeded I him off hishandouffod antagomat. Bu1 BUI, AS DUTENSELY FOWERFUL MAX, though taken thns at disadvantage, was nol to be beaten eaaily, and managed to twist lrimsi'lf upon his Jbaok, still keeping the first man bolow, and when I came apon tho scène dripping out of the riyer, they were uil there in a heáp, all arms and legs, and anarling and blaspheming iïightfully. In a second or two Isaw the jtate of things and jvunped upon my old friend with íioth my knecs in the email of !:is back and bolh hands at tho back of ■ollar. I had sucii e grand hold that [ could hnvo throttlod a giíint, and in a w seoonds he oeaaed to struggle. I thon iot one foot on the ground, and heaved ïim by the collar so as to ease Bevan, who soon got out of tho mess, took my cuffs out of my pocket and securod my big one, who was now nearly stranglod and gasped for breath. The other fellow lay still upon the ground. I began to bo rightned about my work, for my man lid not Boem like ooming to ; butBill got lis billycock full of water out of the iver, dashed it in his face, and the ruffiau was soon all right. I do not think I ever ïeard any ono blasphome so fearfully as when he found out the handcuffs ; but we ot him and the othcr fellow uj), and colared them salbly. As wo were making br the bridgeI sttimbled over tho bag vhicli I had clean forgottcn. I sung out o Bill to carry it. " Carry it, be blowed," said he ; "111 nake this Lig 'un do that." "Hold hint a minute." Ho got hold of the bag, and finding, as 10 expectod, a strong oord around the op, whjpped it in a loop over the big nan'è aeck behind, and marched him off, arrying unrcsistingly his own ganieag. As I v.-as wet through, we agreed to go o my lodge before going to the lock-up 't W . Upen arriving there, [ left 3111 outside with the two prisoners, struck t, lïght,"and changed my cloLE5s. Wneh ■ down, I caHsd Bill in with his two jcautics to have a look at them. To my inent they were perfect strangers, nul lookcd like and rcally wete, nawiea on the tramp. Bill starod at me, I at Bill, and thero stood our two ugly cusomers, looking now as if they could not luite make it out. Had wo i'uadc a misake 'r What on earth was to be dono ? Had wo half killed one, and handcuffod two nnocent. men 'f " 'Well, if they wcro inïodent they (lid not look like it," was my baal thought. The big fellow waa a stolid-looking ruffian, who Becmed to take ihingsprettyeasy; but the other looked nst like a fox caught in one of my traps, vith a quick, startled cyn that seomod to tak : " S■hat next ? " I was ])uzz!ed what o do, and so I could seo was Bill. But here was tho bag ! Ah tho bag! "Unie the bag, Bill," said I, and let us see what tliey have got." Bill slipped the cord over tho big on$'a nc.ck, put the bag m tho floor, and procecded to pull out- not haces and rabbits - but i:w boots and shoesto the anio'.int of a couple of dozen or more ' I understood it all in a monent, "Tie tin ia u]i airnin, Bevan, and et us be off to the Iook-up." So Bill soou oadi-dliiri man again, oit' we went and :rudged away about three miles toW--. We walked into tho lock-up, rousod the sergeant of pólice on duty out of his dozo, md as he was an ald iicquaintance, I took ibn ono side and told tho wholo story. Ho at onec caid thut Isc shguld lock them up on suspicion ; and whilehe was duin ir :his, a man came on horseback to say tliat :i böotiünker's shop at the li;r town - tho moorland liad been brpken into, ;he owner ncaily ïnurdered, and a lot of boato and ghoes cajried off. l'li" two rogUeS were tried at tho assizos, and got fourteen years' trapspprtaïion. Bill and I kèpt our own counsel, ind as wo woro not asked anytliing about nistaking the follows for poachers, we liil not lot out that we had taken them nto custodv hv aicidojit; and my Lord Judgo, afterccmpliinenting us highly for our gallant papture, as he calledit, ordered us fivo pounds apioco out of the county ;hest.