d, and at the same moment a keeper
and a policeman appeared on the other bank. The yell of surprise which
burst from the lips of the rogues as they went to earth was still
ringing in the air when they felt the grip of justice fastened on their
collars, and knew that the game had gone against them on every score.

The gigantic navvy broke away from his captors and ran. A keeper
pursued him, caught him up, and closed with him. There was a short,
fierce struggle, and both men went down headlong, locked together in a
savage grapple. The keeper was undermost, and the weight of his huge
opponent knocked the breath out of him for the moment. The poacher
leapt up, and aimed a terrific kick at his fallen opponent. The man
would have received a severe injury had not the scouts swept into
action at the very nick of time.

'Here's the wust of 'em. Cop 'im, my lads,' roared Chippy, in a voice
which he made as deep as a well. And Dick lashed out and fetched the
big fellow a staggerer with his patrol staff, and shouted also.
Feeling the blow, and hearing the voices at his back, the poacher
thought that a crowd of foes was upon him, and took to his heels and
fled through a coppice, crashing through bushes and saplings with
furious lumbering speed.

The scouts slipped away to see how the second keeper was getting on,
and found that he had got Smiley safe and sound, while the third man
had vanished. Upon the other bank one was captive and the other had
fled.

'How are you gettin' on there, Jem?' called the keeper who had secured
Smiley.

'Oh, I've as good as got my man,' replied Jem, returning to the
river-bank. 'It was Bill Horden, that big navvy. I'll nail him
to-morrow all right. But there was the rummest thing happened over
yonder, 'mongst the trees.' And he burst into the story of his rescue.

'I'd have had my head kicked in if they boys hadn't run up and started
Bill off,' he concluded; 'but who they are, and where they sprung from,
I can't make out.'

The scouts, tucked away in the cover, chuckled as they heard their
mysterious appearance discussed, and wondered if Smiley would throw any
light on the matter. But the old poacher remained sullen and silent,
and now the keepers were hailed by the policeman across the river.

'Bring your man down to the bridge,' he cried, 'and we'll march the two
we've got off to the lock-up.'

'All right,' said the keeper who had collared Smiley. 'I'll come now.
Jem, you ge