his way before him. What more easy than to sell
them at Coldharbour (for so the name of the town in which he had been
imprisoned should be translated), where he knew they were a delicacy, and
would fetch him the value of an English shilling a piece?

It took him between two and three hours to catch two dozen. When he had
thus got what he considered a sufficient stock, he tied their legs
together with rushes, and ran a stout stick through the whole lot. Soon
afterwards he came upon a wood of stunted pines, which, though there was
not much undergrowth, nevertheless afforded considerable shelter and
enabled him to gather wood enough to make himself a good fire. This was
acceptable, for though the days were long, it was now evening, and as
soon as the sun had gone the air became crisp and frosty.

Here he resolved to pass the night. He chose a part where the trees were
thickest, lit his fire, plucked and cleaned four quails, filled his billy
with water from the stream hard by, made tea in his pannikin, grilled two
of his birds on the embers, ate them, and when he had done all this, he
lit his pipe and began to think things over. "So far so good," said he
to himself; but hardly had the words passed through his mind before he
was startled by the sound of voices, still at some distance, but
evidently drawing towards him.

He instantly gathered up his billy, pannikin, tea, biscuits, and blanket,
all of which he had determined to discard and hide on the following
morning; everything that could betray him he carried full haste into the
wood some few yards off, in the direction opposite to that from which the
voices were coming, but he let his quails lie where they were, and put
his pipe and tobacco in his pocket.

The voices drew nearer and nearer, and it was all my father could do to
get back and sit down innocently by his fire, before he could hear what
was being said.

"Thank goodness," said one of the speakers (of course in the Erewhonian
language), "we seem to be finding somebody at last. I hope it is not
some poacher; we had better be careful."

"Nonsense!" said the other. "It must be one of the rangers. No one
would dare to light a fire while poaching on the King's preserves. What
o'clock do you make it?"

"Half after nine." And the watch was still in the speaker's hand as he
emerged from darkness into the glowing light of the fire. My father
glanced at it, and saw that it was exactly like the one he had