uietly waited till Luke came
fumbling by and picked up the hare or rabbit, it did not make the
slightest difference though he went straight to the keeper and made a
formal statement.

Luke had an answer always ready: he had not set the wire, but had
stumbled on it unawares, and was going to take it to the keeper; or he
had noticed a colony of rats about, and had put the gin for them. Now,
the same excuse might have been made by any other poacher; the
difference lay in this--that Luke was believed. At all events, such
little trifles were forgotten, and Luke went on as before. He did a good
deal of the ferreting in the hedges outside the woods himself: if he
took home three dozen from the mound and only paid for two dozen, that
scarcely concerned the world at large.

If in coming down the dark and slippery lane at night somebody with a
heavy sack stepped out from the shadow at the stile, and if the contents
of the sack were rapidly transferred to the shoulder-sticks, or the bag
itself bodily taken along--why, there was nobody there to see. As for
the young man and the boy who helped, those discreet persons had always
a rabbit for their own pot, or even for a friend; and indeed it was
often remarked that old Luke could always get plenty of men to work for
him. No one ever hinted at searching the dirty shed at the side of his
cottage that was always locked by day, or looking inside the disused
oven that it covered. But if fur or feathers had been found there, was
not he the contractor? And clearly if a pheasant _was_ there he could
not be held responsible for the unauthorised acts of his assistants.

The truth was that Luke was the most thorough-paced poacher in the
place--or, rather, he was a wholesale receiver. His success lay in
making it pleasant for everybody all round. It was pleasant for the
keeper, who could always dispose of a few hares or pheasants if he
wanted a little money. The keeper, in ways known to himself, made it
pleasant for the bailiff. It was equally pleasant for the under-keepers,
who had what they wanted (in reason), and enjoyed a little by-play on
their own account. It was pleasant for his men; and it was
pleasant--specially pleasant--at a little wayside inn kept by Luke's
nephew, and, as was believed, with Luke's money. Everybody concerned in
the business could always procure refreshment there, including the
policeman.

There was only one class of persons whom Luke could not conciliate; and
th