ime. Remember that, Cetchy. Once you're off the road don't say
a word more than you can help--and only that in a whisper."

The other nodded.

"I know," he said.

"One time I had an awful narrow squeak," pursued Haviland. "It was in
Needham's Copse, the very place Finch and Harris were swished for going
through. There's a dry ditch just inside where you can nearly always
find a nightingale's nest. I'd just taken one, and was starting to get
back, when I heard something and dropped down like a shot to listen.
Would you believe it, Cetchy, there was a beast of a keeper with a brown
retriever dog squatting against the hedge on the other side! It was
higher than where I was lying, and I could see them against the sky, but
they couldn't see me, and fortunately the hedge was pretty thick. The
wonder was the dog didn't sniff me out, but he didn't. It was lively, I
can tell you, for nearly an hour I had to squat there hardly able to
breathe for fear of being heard. At last they cleared out and so did I.
I was late for call-over of course, but Clay--it was his week--only
gave me a hundred lines--said I looked so jolly dirty that I must have
been running hard. He's a good chap, Clay, and a bit of a sportsman,
although he is such a peppery devil. Well, Cetchy, you see if there had
been two of us, one would have been bound to make a row, and then--what
with the dog we couldn't have got clear. That would have meant a
swishing, for I wasn't a prefect then."

With similar narratives did Haviland beguile the way and instruct his
companion, therein however strictly practising what he preached, in that
he kept them for such times as they should be upon the Queen's highway,
or pursuing a legitimate path.

So far, they had found plenty of spoil, but mostly of the commoner sorts
and not worth taking--at least not from Haviland's point of view--all of
whose instincts as a sportsman were against wanton destruction.

"Why don't you begin collecting, Cetchy?" he said, as, seated on a
stile, they were taking a rest and a look round. "I should have thought
it was just the sort of thing you'd take to kindly."

"Yes. I think I will."

"That's right. We'll start you with all we take to-day, except one or
two of the better sorts, and those we'll halve. What have we got
already? Five butcher-bird's, four nightingale's, and five bullfinch's,
but I believe those are too hard-set to be any good. Hallo!" looking
up, "I believe t