saying it was all a mistake, and the tiger 'adn't escaped at all. Even
parson, who'd been away for a holiday, said so, and Henery Walker told
'is wife that if she ever set foot inside the church agin 'ed ask 'is old
mother to come and live with 'em.

"It was all very well for parson to talk, but the very night he come back
Henery Walker's pig went, and at the same time George Kettle lost five or
six ducks.

"He was a quiet man, was George, but when 'is temper was up 'e didn't
care for anything. Afore he came to Claybury 'e 'ad been in the Militia,
and that evening at the 'Cauliflower' 'e turned up with a gun over 'is
shoulder and made a speech, and asked who was game to go with 'im and
hunt the tiger. Bill Chambers, who was still grieving after 'is pig,
said 'e would, then another man offered, until at last there was
seventeen of 'em. Some of 'em 'ad scythes and some pitchforks, and one
or two of 'em guns, and it was one o' the finest sights I ever seed when
George Kettle stood 'em in rows of four and marched 'em off.

"They went straight up the road, then across Farmer Gill's fields to get
to Plashett's wood, where they thought the tiger 'ud most likely be, and
the nearer they got to the wood the slower they walked. The sun 'ad just
gone down and the wood looked very quiet and dark, but John Biggs, the
blacksmith, and George Kettle walked in first and the others follered,
keeping so close together that Sam Jones 'ad a few words over his
shoulder with Bill Chambers about the way 'e was carrying 'is pitchfork.

"Every now and then somebody 'ud say, _'Wot's that!'_ and they'd all stop
and crowd together and think the time 'ad come, but it 'adn't, and then
they'd go on agin, trembling, until they'd walked all round the wood