94 AN ENGLISH GAMEKEEPER. 



upon Dick would go away, grumbling' and 

 growling, thinking it of no use to watch the 

 .snares any longer. Of course the men were 

 only lying in wait, and, the moment he had 

 gone, they came and took any game that might 

 be in the snares, for he often forgot to remove 

 what was caught, or else he left it purposely, 

 hoping to find it there still on his return, to act 

 as a bait for the poachers. The latter soon 

 got to know Dick's lazy and careless ways, and 

 so bested him. Dick never ought to have been 

 a keeper ; he had no cunning about him, no 

 tricks of dodging his men, changing his beats, 

 and altering his clothes. He used to be just 

 wound up like a clock, and I could always tell 

 where to put my hand upon him at any given 

 time of the day. As I have before mentioned, 

 he was an old soldier, and had the discipline of 

 the barracks thoroughly instilled into him, but 

 although that is a very good thing in its way, 

 it does not fit a man for the calling of a keeper. 

 A keeper's life is one of continual strain and 

 anxiety, and he must be able to adapt himself 

 to all sorts of strange circumstances, in order to 



