260 AN ENGLISH GAMEKEEPER. 



more besides, concealed about his person. 

 " There," said I, holding it up, " That's the 

 snare you took the rabbit out of." 



At this juncture up comes my under-keeper, 

 Tom Bitmead, whose last place was at " Park 

 Place," Henley-on-Thames. Bitmead had 

 been watching some more snares round the 

 corner, about fifty yards from me, and had 

 seen Duckey take up six or seven of these 

 before he collared the rabbit, so the latter was 

 fairly caught. 



I summoned Phillips, and he had to appear 

 before the Bench at Walden. He dressed up 

 in his best clothes, and asked me, before going 

 into Court, not to say anything about finding 

 the other seven snares on him. He said that 

 if he got over this job he would never do any 

 more snaring, and that, if he heard that any 

 poaching was going to be done on my land, he 

 would let me know of it in time ; he could help 

 me a good deal in that way, and would do, if 

 I did not hurt him unnecessarily now. 



" Pray, Wilkins," said he. Don't say a word 

 about those other snares, and you shan't be a 



