BREYDON IN SPRINGTIME 



99 



walk a mile rather 'an meet one, and when he useter go a- 

 pickin' of a nite in the deeks [ditches], he'd always hold his 

 eel-pick over his hid to see as he hadn't got a frog on, and 

 lost many a good eel through it. If he upset a bucket of eels 

 on the mesh [marsh], he dussent for the life on him pick 'em 

 up for fear of touchin' his finger agin a frog ! " 



" That's quite right ! " put in " Short 'un." 



Without deigning to notice this interruption, Larn went 

 on. 



" You remember old * Silky ' Watson ? " he asked. 



" I just remember him," said I. 



PEREGRINE FALCON 



" Well, he was the snuggest man at a big gun I ever seed ; 

 and couldn't he swear! One day it was a terrible hard 

 winter, and Breydon was friz all over, with only a ' wake ' 

 here and there in the channels. 'Silky' had spotted a parcel 

 of ducks sittin' on the ice at the edge ; they were perched up 

 three feet from the water. Old 'Silky' laid low and began to 

 scull up to 'em, when all on a sudden, up went their hids, 

 and in hid fust the next minnet they dove. On turnin' round 

 Watson seed a big hawk [peregrine] dash past him, but, like 

 him, the hawk had lost 'em " 



" You say he swore / " I remarked. 



" Well! he'd bin a old man-o'- war's man, and you could hear 

 him all over Breydon ! " replied " Snicker" impressively. " But, 



