It is, therefore, not without a certain amount of information concerning the irascibility and the bodily prowess of their quarry that the agents set out in his pursuit. Usually, they hunt in couples; if the game is reputed unusually dangerous, in larger numbers. For weapons, they carry each two pieces of stout cord,--a small one, fastened to the middle of a wooden handle at each end, this is the _cabriolet_; and a large one, the _ligote_, about two mètres and a half in length. These simple methods of correction have replaced--except in the country districts and where the prisoner has to be conducted a considerable distance--the old-fashioned _poucettes_, or handcuffs. Thus provided, the pursuers endeavor to surprise their prey as it issues from a house or an inn,--they wear no uniform, and they in nowise begin by summoning their victim in the name of the law, so that it is strongly advisable for them to be very sure of his identity ere they fall upon him from behind, exactly in the manner of the highwaymen themselves. With one hand they grasp the collar of his coat, a little below the nape of his neck, and with the other, not his arm, but the sleeve of his coat. An individual thus collared on each side is helpless; if he wish to strike with his fists or his feet, he is obliged to lash out sidewise or obliquely, his arms are held securely; and the _coup de pied de vache_, which he may endeavor to give with his feet, though "it will break a tibia like glass," is easily avoided. Moreover, while he has one foot in the air, his equilibrium is in danger, and he is promptly brought to earth and secured. Usually, however, the cabriolet is round his wrist, and he is _bouclé_ before he can say "Jack Robinson!"