DUCK SHOOTING. 247 
him in the dim light making straight for me. Run- 
ning was never my forte, but, gentlemen, my speed 
round that house with that mastiff after me has 
rarely been equalled; he kept it up well, however, 
and if he could have turned a corner readily, would 
have caught me. Recovering my presence of mind 
in the third round, I darted through the hall door, 
and slamming it to behind me, heard my enemy 
bounce against it, and after a growl and a sniff or 
two, turn away in disgust. 
“Upon regaining my breath, I ascended to my 
room, and loading the revolver which I always carry 
on dangerous journeys, returned to the attack, de- 
termined on revenge. Strange to say, however, the 
cowardly beast, the moment the pistol was presented 
at him, uttered a low whine and shrank away. Dis- 
gusted with his cowardice, [ seized up my rod, which 
had been dropped in my first flight, and pursuing 
him howling piteously three times round the house, 
laid it on him soundly. 
“It must have been poor stuff, for the tip broke. 
Conroy mended it afterwards, without charge, 
when I told him the circumstances. But I put in 
a spare one, and having dug my box full of worms, 
went to the shed where my horse was left stand- 
ing, ready harnessed, from the night before. There 
is nothing like attention to these little matters in 
time; for, if the hostler had had to harness him, he 
might have detained me many precious minutes. 
“A half-hour’s drive soon brought me to the 
pond, and, after hitching the animal to the fence— 
