TRESPASSERS AND POACHERS 245 
he thought there was ‘a smartish sprinklin’, though 
he hadn’t seen ne’er’n in thic vield.’ 
The sly poacher always has some excuse—very 
often worse than none at all. A plausible excuse 
will save a poacher who knows that he was com- 
mitting nothing more than simple trespass at the 
actual moment when the keeper appeared; the 
chances are even that the latter has seen nothing 
culpable. A very favourite excuse is that of sudden 
indisposition. Such an excuse was offered me by 
two men whom I had been watching one Sunday 
morning. I got up quite close to them in a spinney 
where they were trying to dig out a rabbit with the 
help of a dog. I watched the operations for several 
minutes before disturbing the diggers. I told them 
it was news to me that relief from their alleged 
indisposition was to be found in the depths of a 
rabbit-burrow. One December afternoon two carters 
had returned home early owing to prolonged heavy 
rain. Of course, they never dreamt that I should 
be about their rather out-of-the-way part of the 
place on such an afternoon. I happened to see 
them, armed with cudgels, in the pouring rain, 
searching along each side of a rabbity hedge, and 
among some tufts of grass near by. Owing to the 
wetness of the grass, and to the fact that the men 
did not trouble now and again to look round, I was 
able to walk up behind one of them and touch him 
gently on the shoulder before he saw me. I asked 
