36 The Life Worth Living 



lina, he was two years old and not very 

 good looking. I got him in the spring 

 and had to keep him all summer before I 

 could try him. I didn't like his movements 

 and in general thought him a failure. He 

 was passionately fond of a horse a rather 

 unusual trait for a bird-dog. So I sent him 

 to the stable and never allowed him to see 

 the inside of the house. 



When the first of November came, I took 

 him out in the field for a trial with little faith 

 in his ability. 



The way he swept that field fairly took my 

 breath! 



The other dogs simply were not in his class. 

 He was the whole show. He would circle a 

 hedgerow like a white streak of light, sud- 

 denly dart out into the open, his beautiful 

 head flung high in the air, and have the birds 

 before the other dogs had started. 



I hugged him. When we returned home 

 that night he knew the change in his status 



