Page:Rudyard Kipling's verse - Inclusive Edition 1885-1918.djvu/744

 726 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE

They took and ran across the fern, Their crossbows in their hand,

Till they met a man with a green lantern That called and bade 'em stand.

"What are ye doing, O Flesh and Blood, And what's your foolish will,

That you must break into Minepit Wood And wake the Folk of the Hill?"

"Oh, we've broke into Lord Pelham's park, And killed Lord Pelham's deer,

And if ever you heard a little dog bark You'll know why we come here.

"We ask you let us go our way,

As fast as we can flee, For if ever you heard a bloodhound bay

You'll know how pressed we be."

"Oh, lay your crossbows on the bank And drop the knife from your hand,

And though the hounds are at your flank I'll save you where you stand!"

They laid their crossbows on the bank, They threw their knives in the wood,

And the ground before them opened and sank And saved 'em where they stood.

"Oh, what's the roaring in our ears That strikes us well-nigh dumb?"

"Oh, that is just how things appears According as they come."