14 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



best chance of bagging an elusive bachelor. Some- 

 times she captures the heart of a bachelor before he 

 has found a berth that will support a wife ; then he 

 will advertise for a place, making the ambiguous 

 statement : " Married when suited." No doubt 

 some keepers who have issued this form of advertise- 

 ment could tell strange stories of the applications 

 received. 



f,v * * 



When going out to look at a place where the chance 



of a berth has offered itself, the keeper always takes 



good stock of the game in the country 



The through which he passes. You may meet 



KAABAP 



seeks a ^ini, at ^ e end of the season, setting out 



New Berth by road or by rail; he is clad in his best, 

 you will see ; bright new gaiters encase his 

 legs, his boots glitter with polish. However great 

 his hurry, as he goes along through park-lands or 

 woods, he is looking out for everything to be seen ; 

 not a sign of game escapes him. And there lives a 

 keeper who, passing through an estate on his way 

 to a personal interview with the owner, chanced to 

 be led out of the direct path by certain suspicious 

 sounds which he heard, and caught a poacher red- 

 handed. It is hardly necessary to add that he 

 stepped forthwith into the vacant berth. 



^ cf 



Many long leagues separate the moor-keeper of the 

 North from the keeper of South-country preserves ; 



