76 Sporting Sketches in Pen and Pencil. 



unlike a detective. Fipps is devoted, and he'll just as often walk and beat 

 for us as shoot. He likes the fun royally. He had some money left him 

 lately, and is in easy case. Johnson and he became sworn brothers ; never 

 were such friends and allies. When the young pheasants are on there is not 

 an ant's nest far or near that i'ipps doesn't know of, and if the birds were 

 his own bairns he couldn't take more interest in them. As for poachers, 

 Fipps tackled the worst and biggest one — Bullying Ben, as he was 

 called at Snigswig Market — one day, and thrashed him within an inch of 

 his life, and promised him some more if he ever caught him about our 

 place again. Master Rackstraw was looked after by the school board, 

 and, as he didn't like it, he ran away to sea, and (as all such characters 

 are) was no doubt wrecked, eaten by savages, and made a tract and 

 an awful example of, so there was an end of him. And higgler Joe 

 was unfortunate, most unfortunate ; he moved to Portland, .having taken 

 a long contract there, which he couldn't throw up, to break stone or some- 

 tliing of that sort — I'm afraid the contract doesn't pay so well as higgling 

 and fencing. And all the rest of us are very well, thank you. 



m^ 



• A CABRIBE BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT.' 



