Even Mrs.Jellison, he thought, must admit that he knew a thing or two as to the best way of dealing with the gentry.
But Marcella fixed him with her bright frank eyes.
"I had rather ask in the village," she said.

"If you don't know how it is now, Mr.Patton, tell me how it used to be when you were young.

Was the preserving very strict about here?
Were there often fights, with the keepers--long ago ?--in my grandfather's days ?--and do you think men poached because they were hungry, or because they wanted sport ?" Patton looked at her fixedly a moment undecided, then her strong nervous youth seemed to exercise a kind of compulsion on him; perhaps, too, the pretty courtesy of her manner.

He cleared his throat again, and tried to forget Mrs.Jellison, who would be sure to let him hear of it again, whatever he said.
"Well, I can't answer for 'em, miss, I'm sure, but if you ast _me_, I b'lieve ther's a bit o' boath in it.

Yer see it's not in human natur, when a man's young and 's got his blood up, as he shouldn't want ter have 'is sport with the wild creeturs.