A BLOODY FRAY. 



239 



on the gate, with his head to his hand, or his 

 hand to his head, watching me fighting, till he 

 saw me fall over the hedge, into the ditch. 

 Then he bolted, and the two men with whom 

 I had been fighting, seeing him run away, 

 chased him and drove him up into Bury Lodge 

 Road. There they threw their sticks at him, 

 striking him in the back as he was running 

 away, and that was all the blows that Joslin 

 got. 



The men then came back to where I lay 

 groaning in the ditch, and I indistinctly heard 

 one of them say : " Here's a chap in the ditch, 

 kill the devil, drag him out and settle him." 

 ** Where is he?" said the other, '*I don't see 

 him." " I know he's there, for I heard him 

 groan ; that's where he is, bring him and settle 

 him." " I don't see him." 



Then I held my breath, as they poked their 

 gate net stick into the ditch, and I felt it 

 scrape over my legs and punch into my calves. 

 " I felt him then ; bring him out," said one, 

 and the other forthwith got down into the 

 ditch and began to pull me out. I was too 



