The Confessions of a 'Poacher. 35 



in fur and feather. He noted that the hand- 

 some cock pheasants always crowed before 

 they flew up to roost ; that in the evening the 

 partridges called as they came together in the 

 grass lands ; and he watched the ways of the 

 hares as they skipped in the moonlight. These 

 things we were wont to discuss when wild 

 weather prevented our leaving the hut ; and 

 all our plans were tested by experiment before 

 they were put into practice. It was upon 

 these occasions, too, that the garrulous old 

 man would tell of his early life. That was the 

 time for fowl ; but now the plough had in- 

 vaded the sea-birds' haunt. He would tell of 

 immense flocks of widgeon, of banks of brent 

 geese, and clouds of dunlin. Bitterns used to 

 boom and breed in the bog, and once, though 

 only once, a great bustard was shot. In his 

 young days Kittiwake had worked a decoy, as 

 had his father and grandfather before him ; 

 and when any stray fowler or shore-shooter 

 told of the effect of a single shot of their big 

 punt-guns, he would cap their stories by 

 going back to the days of decoying. Although 



