190 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



three men about me ; so I called to him, " that it 

 should be the worse for him if he did not stop." Down 

 he fell on his knees, and began to pray for pardon. 

 Having contented myself with searching his pockets, 

 in which I found nothing, I ordered him off, in haste 

 to return and see that the man I had left on the 

 oTound, or the other who had set off to run away, did 

 not take up anything that might be there. When I 

 o-ot back to the wood the fallen man had picked himself 

 up and was nowhere to be seen, and I had the wood 

 to myself. On searching the ground I discovered 

 that they were stealing acorns, for they had left be- 

 hind them three sacks, each half full. Those woods 

 beino" a long way from home, I always went to them 

 for the day, and carried a small pocket-flask contain- 

 ing a glass of sherry, and also a sandwich. Having 

 sat on one of the sacks, those viands were produced, 

 when, just as I had drained my flask, the turn-up of 

 my head gave me to see my three friends gathered 

 together, each having armed himself with a stick, and 

 seated on the top bar of a gate by the roadside 

 gazing at me. I did not like it ; for though it is easy 

 enough to attack and disperse great odds by aid of a 

 sudden onset, when those assaulted don't know how 

 many backers the assaulter may have behind him, yet 

 when men have time to reason with themselves, and 

 see that they are as three to one, it alters the proba- 

 bility of victory very much. I confess, I thought 

 myself in for a fight at least, and I would have given 

 nuich for the presence of another man. However, the 

 best course was to put a bold face on the matter ; 

 men don't like to attack another when he is armed 

 with a gun, and has at his heels a large and faithful 

 dog. So I emptied the sacks of their acorns, casting 



