Oby and his System. 123 



trap. I've been before the bench, at one place and 

 t'other, heaps of times, and paid the fine for trespass. 

 Last time the chairman said to I, " So you be here 

 again, Oby ; we hear a good deal about you." I says, 

 " Yes, my lard, I be here agen, but people never 

 don't hear nothing about you" That shut the old 

 duffer up. Nobody never heard nothing of he, except 

 at rent-audit. 



' However, they all knows me now my lard and 

 the steward, and the keeper and the bailies, and the 

 farmers ; and they don't take half the notice of I as they 

 used to. The keeper he don't dare nor the policeman 

 as I telled you, and the rest be got used to me and my 

 ways. And I does very well one week with t'other. 

 One week I don't take nothing, and the next I haves a 

 good haul, chiefly hares and rabbits : 'cause of course I 

 never goes into the wood, nor the plantations. It 

 wants eight or ten with crape masks on for that job. 



' I sets up about four wires, sometimes only two : 

 if you haves so many it is a job to look after 'em. 

 I stops the hare's other runs, so that she is sure to 

 come along mine where I've got the turnpike up : the 

 trick is to rub your hand along the runs as you want 

 to stop, or spit on 'em, or summat like that ; for a 

 hare won't pass nothing of that sort. So pussy goes 

 back and comes by the run as I've chose : if she comes 



