POACHING AGAIN. 359 



caught up with the hindmost poacher, and 

 straightway knocks him down with his life- 

 preserver, at the same time shouting : " Look 

 out, one down," never stopping to pick the 

 poacher up and secure him, he keeps on 

 running after the others ; he comes up with 

 the second man and " downs " him in the 

 same way. " Look out, another down." The 

 two other keepers follow up and secure the two 

 fallen men, whilst the head keeper pursues his 

 way until he catches up with the last poacher, 

 and treats him the same way as the others. 

 This occurred fifty years ago, all three poachers 

 being knocked down like so many rats. 



One evening, shortly afterwards, this head 

 keeper was returning home from a public 

 house, when he met three or four men emerging 

 from a bye lane ; two of them attacked him 

 at once, but he was a tall and powerful man, 

 and defended himself well, so the other men 

 joined in the fray. That keeper crawled home 

 on his hands and knees, at four o'clock in the 

 morning. 



I went to see him whilst he was still in bed, 



