176 FIELD AND HEDGEROW. 
these mounds, but could find no reference to them any- 
where, so he dug through one or two of them himself, 
without success; the soil did not seem to have ever been 
disturbed, consequently they might have been natural. 
‘Perhaps I should have found out something though, 
he said, with a smile, ‘if it had not been for that ‘le 
old dog as we used to keep in the tub at the back of the 
house. Such a lot of folk used to come to our back 
door all day long after victuals, some out of the village, 
and some from the next parish, and some as went round 
regular, and gipsy chaps, and chaps as pretended to 
come from London—you never saw such a crowd,—just 
because the old man and the missus was rather good to 
‘em. So there they was a-clacking at that door all day 
long. But this ’ere dog in the tub used to sarve ’em out 
sometimes if they didn’t mind. (Chuckle.) She never 
barked, or nothing of that sort, never let ’em know as 
there was a dog there at all; there she’d lie as quiet till 
they was just gone by a little—then out she'd slip with- 
out a word behind them, and snip’em by the leg. Lord, 
how they did jump and holler! (Chuckle. See, they 
had the pinch afore they knowed as she was there. 
Lord, what a lot she did bite to be sure! (thoughtfully) ; 
I can’t tell ’e how many, her did it so neat. That kept 
folk away a little, else I suppose we shouldn’t have had 
anything to eat ourselves. None of ’em never went 
wrong, you know, never went mad or anything of that 
sort—never had to send nobody to Paris in them days 
to be dog-vaccinated. Curious, wasn’t it? Must have 
been something different about folk then. However, 
this here dog was desperate clever at it. As I was 
telling you, I dug through them mounds; couldn’t find 
no coins or anything ; so I heard cf a big archzologist 
chap that was writing a new book about the antiquities 
