234 AN ENGLISH GAMEKEEPER. 



dead dogs, one in each hand, and a gun under 

 each arm. Hutley had asked me to take his 

 single-barrelled gun with me, and I had left my 

 double-barrelled gun where I shot my last dog. 

 I was going on, thus loaded up, when Joslin 

 calls out. "Come on, Wilkins, come on, 

 here's three or four more yet." I immediately 

 dropped everything except my single-barrelled 

 gun, and ran up, thinking that Joslin meant 

 three or four more dogs. 



" Where, where ? " I cried. "Over there," 

 said he, pointing to the hedge. I looked up 

 and saw three or four men, who had come 

 down from the top of the field. I went up to 

 the gap where Jones had set his net, to look at 

 them, when one of the gang reached over the 

 bank with his stick, to crack my head, but I 

 stepped back in time to avoid the blow. I 

 had time, however, to recognize one man as 

 Duckey Phillips, of Birchanger. 



" Oh ! ho ! that's you, Duckey, is it ?" says I. 

 " I've handled both you and your father before 

 now, and the pair of you won't make the half 

 of a good man. You'll have about one shot 



