So
one spring morning the attempt was made.
It was necessary to go on hands and knees through the mowing grass for
some yards while passing an open space where the blackthorn cover ended,
and then to leap a broad ditch that divided the withy-beds from the
meadow. The lissom willow wands parted easily and sprang back to their
places behind, leaving scarce a trace. Their slender tops rose overhead;
beneath, long dead grasses, not yet quite supplanted by the spring
growth, filled the space between. These rustled a little under foot, but
so faint a sound could scarcely have been audible outside; and had any
one noticed it it would have been attributed to a hare or a fox moving:
both are fond of lying in withy-beds when the ground is dry.
The way to walk noiselessly is to feel with the foot before letting your
weight press on it; then the dead stick or fallen hemlock is discovered
and avoided. A dead stick cracks; the dry hollow hemlock gives a
splintering sound when crushed. These old hemlock stems were numerous in
places, together with 'gicksies,' as the haymakers call a plant that
resembles it, but has a ribbed or fluted instead of a smooth stalk. The
lads use a long 'gicks' cut between the joints as a tube to blow haws or
peggles at the girls. When thirsty, and no ale is handy, the men search
for one to suck up water with from the brook. It is difficult to find
one free from insects, which seem to be remarkably fond of anything
hollow.
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