72 Studies in Rat Catching, [ch. iv. 



later on when Grindum has taken his stand 

 there ; and there is a pipe under the gateway, 

 the far end of which I shall close. The rats 

 have never been disturbed, for the runs are as 

 fresh as Oxford Street, and I have already 

 seen one or two rats run into the hedge lower 

 down from out the wheat stubble, and, there ! 

 that whistle has sent a lot more in. Steady, 

 Wasp ! Well done, Chance ; you have marked 

 one in that hole near you, or more than one, 

 is there ? Well, the more the merrier ! Stand, 

 dogs, stand ! Are you ready, Jack ? And in 

 goes a ferret as lively as quicksilver and as 

 fierce as a tiger. 



For a minute all is quiet ; then a slight stir 

 on the other side and two snaps of Tinker's 

 lantern-jaws, and two rats dead ; three 

 others out of a side hole are killed by Wasp, 

 and three others accounted for by Grindum, 

 and that fool Pepper is racing and jumping 

 down the hedge a mile off. Whistle ! 



