night when and where I please so long as it's a free country. So now
then!"

He sulked a bit and didn't come to see the Fords for a week, though Joey
was over often enough to see him, and Joseph felt rather interested to
mark how the little man had taken it. But then 'Santa Claus' made friends
again and came into Sunday supper and brought a pheasant along with him!

He made a lot of fun about it and pretended as he'd shot it in the coverts
over night; and presently he told Joseph that, if he wanted to run him in,
he'd best to go to Mercer's at Newton Abbot first and find out if he'd
bought it all decent and in order, or if he had not. So the matter
dropped, and all was firm friends again till the blow fell.

Poaching went on, and Joseph noted that Teddy was apt to be from home a
bit and would often go away for a day or two. And the new head-keeper, who
was sleepless on the job, traced where a car had come across one of the
drives in Oakshott's by night, for the wheels had scored the grass; and
where the thing had stood was a dead bird the blackguards had overlooked.

The pheasant had been shot roosting and an air-gun was the weapon, for
they found the slug in it.

And the next thing was that just afore the end of the season, Joseph Ford
set out to lend a hand with the job on his own, unknown to anybody but the
head-keeper. He worked out of his business hours and off the regular
policeman's beats, and the keeper, who now felt pretty sure one of his own
under-men was in it, and he'd got treachery to deal with, put Joseph up to
a secret plan. Oakshott's is a huge place and the six keepers kept there
couldn't be everywhere; but an unknown seventh man might steal a march on