“‘Then it’s somebody else’s snare, not ours,’ I says, ‘for we’s only just got here, and yon farmer as give us leave to stop will tell you the same if you ask him.’
“‘Well, see here,’ says the keeper, ‘there’s a rabbit for your pot. Keep a sharp look out, and mind you let me know if anybody comes to fetch that hare. There’s my cottage up yonder.’
“Then he went away, and would you believe it, a bit after the moon got up we see a man coming across the field and straight to that snare he went, and as he was taking the hare out of it, there was a tap on his shoulder from the keeper. Now, who do you think the man was that got catched so nicely? It was the willage policeman. And that night I bought that here jukel (dog), I did, and me and the dog had a fine time among the shushiaw (rabbits) after the keeper and the policeman had gone away. About a week after, the muskro (policeman) had to appear in court, and a wery poor figure he cut afore the pukinger (magistrate). You see, he was catched proper, and couldn’t get out of it no-how. The pot-cart man and me had to go up as witnesses.”
“You’ll know this countryside well, I expect. Do you ever spend the night in Dark Lane, as I believe they call it?”
“One time we used to stop there a lot, rai, but they won’t let us now. How’smiver, we hatsh odoi (encamp there) for a râti (night) at odd times, spite of everybody.”
This remark was accompanied by a half-smothered chuckle from Jonathan, who, while filling his pipe from my tobacco pouch, seemed to be ruminating upon a reminiscence which presently came out.
The said lane lies pleasantly between a neighbouring village and the river, and about the month of May the grass down there begins to be sweet, but woe to the Gypsies whom the constable finds encamped thereabouts.
Jonathan went on to tell how he and his party once passed a night very happily there when the may-buds were bursting. And this is how it was done.
In a wayside tavern the Gypsy had heard it whispered that the County Police had gone to the town for the annual inspection, which involved a temporary absence of the constables from their respective localities. But, to make quite sure of this, on arriving at the village of F—, Jonathan sought out a certain cottage and thus addressed himself to a constable’s wife—
“Is the sergeant at home?”