THE TRICKS OF POACHERS. i^S 



"clitters of stones" — as Dartmoor tors are named in the 

 vernacular — a robber of hen roosts had gone to ground. To do 

 him justice, he cared only to capture the wily old gourmands. A 

 fox of the stout wild sort, that had gone to earth after a good 

 run, he would let " bide " in peace, for Bob was a sportsman 

 who held that a fox which could beat " Trelawny's hounds " 

 deserved his life. And besides, as he said, "any vule could 

 ketch wan o' they," if he only waited long enough with his net in 

 the right place. When the hounds had marked the red rover in, 

 there he must come out if there was no back door. Bob's 

 methods needed more knowledge of woodcraft. If there were 

 any small shingle near the earth he could tell by it whether the 

 fox had come back in haste, or with leisurely steps bearing a 

 burden, or light. From the signs on gravel, grass, bracken, or 

 heather, he made up his mind how long it would be before the fox 

 must needs sally out on another foraging expedition, and made 

 his plans accordingly. He never resorted to clumsy stone traps 

 or cruel steel ones, and his nets were of the simplest, without 

 bells. A man with his quick ears did not want any music louder 

 than the angry snarl of a fox in meshes to wake him. Some he 

 /filled on the spot so that he might show mask or pad to those 

 who paid him, but a live fox was at times worth more than a dead 

 one to him, and he always knew his market. The sporting 

 farmers suspected, if they did not know all, and forbade him to 

 come near their homesteads, but he called when they were out, 

 and was always sure of a reward from the housewives, who 

 regarded him as custodian of their perquisites. 



The methods of Poachers in trapping, netting, or snaring game 

 dififer so much that one never knows how to meet them. Rabbits, 



