132 Studies in Rat Catching, [ch viii. 



the dogs in a warm dry shed with heaps of 

 straw to sleep on, Jack and I despatch our 

 food and then start off to inspect the field of 

 our future operations. We have not far to 

 go. First down the street, past two or three 

 dozen flint-pebble cottages ; past the church, 

 with its square tower so high that it makes 

 the really big church look small in proportion ; 

 past the rectory ; past the schools, where 

 some forty or fifty future fishermen and 

 sailors have just finished their tasks for the 

 day and come rolling out, dressed all alike in 

 dark, sea-stained, canvas trousers and thick 

 sailor jerseys ; past the low one-storied cot- 

 tage where the old retired naval captain has 

 lived for many years, and then up a sandy 

 lane between high crumbling banks and out 

 on to the open Denes. We take a path 

 that runs close along on the top of the cliff, 

 mounting a steep hill as we go till we reach 

 a spot half a mile further on, where the sea 



