WILD SPORT IN BRITTANY. 267 



in ambush to catch them, was at once inferred by the braconniers, 

 and the dread they seemed to feel at the chance of being trapped 

 by this law official would have been simply ridiculous if it had 

 not led shortly afterwards to a serious assault on a poor peasant 

 who had been the innocent cause of this panic. The man had 

 been at work grubbing up stumps of furze and heather for fire- 

 wood, and clearing the ground for future tillage, when, hearing 

 the slugs whistling through the air in his direction, he had 

 prudently placed himself behind some earth-mounds lying between 

 him and the advancing party, and thence taking a survey of the 

 proceedings, his head being unfortunately uncovered, he was at 

 once mistaken for a gendarme, who had laid his helmet aside 

 to avoid discovery a ruse not unfrequently adopted by the 

 gendarmes when stalking a suspected bracomrier. 



On coining up to the spot where the peasant lay extended on 

 the ground, the indignation of the braconniers knew no bounds, 

 swearing furiously, notwithstanding the man's protestations to the 

 contrary, that he had intentionally played this trick on them, or 

 "why," it was asked, "had his hat been laid aside when he 

 showed his ass's head over and between the earth-mounds ? " 

 One of the braconniers, a well-known wrestler, being more 

 excited than the rest, dashed savagely at the poor fellow as he 

 was rising from the ground, and kicked him down again with 

 his heavy sabot, till he fairly groaned with pain. When this 

 assault, however, took place, those of the party who still carried 

 their guns had gone on with the chase ; nor, till we heard the 

 man's cry for help, were we aware that the wrath of the 

 braconnier had broken out into blows. "This is too bad," said 

 Keryfan, who was the first to discover what had happened ; 

 "and that luckless peasant will be seriously maltreated, I fear, 

 if we do not return at once to his aid." To the infinite disgust 

 of the carpenter-commandant, St. Prix and Keryfan, facing about, 

 proceeded forthwith to execute this errand of mercy ; but before 



