36 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



the point where the encounter had taken place. In a 

 few moments the watered blood and the tattered gar- 

 ment had been scattered indiscriminately here and there 

 about the road, and two pairs of feet began to trample 

 them into the mud and dust. The night was so dark 

 that the immediate effect was not discernible. Having 

 completed this piece of work, he returned to the house, 

 and, warning his servant to keep a quiet tongue in his 

 head, retired to bed. Next morning there was " the 

 devil to pay." An early visitor in the shape of a con- 

 stable found an unusually early riser in the shape of the 

 shooting tenant, who listened with keen attention to a 

 story of the strange doings of the night before. The 

 constable suspected manslaughter, though no body had 

 been found. His hearer, evidently much impressed 

 with the seriousness of the situation, accompanied him 

 to the cross-roads, where already a small crowd had 

 collected, peering into hedges and over dykes to find 

 a mutilated corpse. For the roadside presented a 

 gruesome spectacle. Even the innocent humorist was 

 impressed by the ghastliness of the experiment. As 

 for the head-keeper, he was quite nonplussed. The 

 fight had been a severe one, but he could not account 

 for the roadside shambles. The constable was, of 

 course, sceptical at his mild protestations, and the crowd 

 voted him a new quality of humour. However, to cut 

 a long story short, there was a private interview be- 

 tween tenant and constable, and " the smile on the face 

 of bobby " was modified by the fact that he discerned a 



