56 A Book of the Snipe. 



by the way the fowl huddle together, we 

 shall not be able to make a much closer ac- 

 quaintance with them either. See ! they are 

 off, with a mighty roar of wings. Stand 

 perfectly still, and I wager they will pass 

 right overhead, as we are very nearly in 

 the wind's eye. So they do ; but nothing- 

 smaller than a 4 -bore would be equal to 

 taking an elegant extract. 



But we are neglecting our proper business, 

 the snipe. I expect we shall find most 

 amongst the scattered clumps of rushes that 

 fringe the edge of the pool. It will be very 

 wet walking out there, but anything for a 

 relief from this tiring giant - stride business 

 from tussock to tussock. Mind that circle of 

 vivid green in front of you ; a horse has been 

 lost in there. It is a mud-hole that the folks 

 hereabouts declare to be bottomless. Prob- 

 ably it is not that, though it is certainly deep 

 enough to have completely swallowed up the 

 unfortunate animal, who was no doubt at- 

 tracted by the splendid colour of the growth 

 over it. We give it a wide berth, but pass 



