Guy Waterman Author:John Saunders Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. AN EXPEDITION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. The moonlight was pouring down upon hill and wood, upon coppice and dell, bathing the whole surface of the... more » ground in a soft white glory, and producing strange and fantastic shadows where it caught some gnarled and leafless branch projecting out from the depths of the foliage, when whispering voices were heard :— ' Hist!' ' Marks ?' 'All right! Seen Guy?' ' Yes; he's exploring a bit before we begin. That young fellow has the courage of the Old 'un !' ' Keep close. I hear the twigs crackling on the ground. The keepers '11 be uncommon wide awake to-night. The moon's as good as a lantern for 'em to track us with. I wanted Guy to put it off; buthe said, "No,this were his last night o' vagabondizing;" and so we let the bargain stand. There he is!' Guy now approached, keeping under the thick shadows of the hedgerows. When he met them he said, in a low tone, ' I have just seen the keepers. There are three of them, all armed.' ' Well,' said Marks, ' we are three too, and our guns are as good.' ' That's all very well,' said Guy; ' but I don't want to hurt men for doing their duty, though I do mean to have what I came for—a bird or two, or a rabbit—before I go home. So let us get out of their way and not provoke danger or bloodshed. Although the advice was accepted it was not acted on, for a hare starting across their path, was shot at and killed by one of the two men before Guy could interpose. ' Now,' said he, ' we shall have the keepers upon us in two minutes. Run—this way!' But it so happened they ran on to the very muzzles of the keepers' guns as they crouched undera hedge to catch the poachers. In an instant there was a wild scuffle — oaths and execrations were lavished freely, and one of the guns went of...« less