2 1 6 Winter 



his feet against one side of the vessel and his back 

 against the other, he exerted his strength to such 

 effect that the timbers gave way, and the entire crew 

 found themselves struggling in the water, a situation 

 wherein they were more anxious about their own 

 lives than the safety of the prisoner. On land Mark 

 was quite as successful as on the water. By nicely 

 calculating his raids, he over and over again spoiled 

 what everybody thought would be an excellent day's 

 sport ; the pheasants and partridges that were to have 

 tested the ability of the gunners often being in the 

 hands of the cadger, who received Mark's spoil while 

 beaters were vainly trying to put them up from the 

 cover or the turnips. 



He and the friend or two who aided him were full 

 of ingenuity. Sometimes just about the pairing sea- 

 son he would take a little red bantam cock, armed 

 with a long sharp spur, to the side of a plantation. 

 It knew its business well, and would at once crow a 

 defiance to everything within hearing. But the cock 

 pheasant, which is a very pugilistic bird, would not 

 endure this for a moment. He straightway sallies out 

 and offers battle to the stranger, with the consequence 

 that in two rounds he is knocked out of time or killed 

 outright by the trained fighter, whose master, in less 

 time than it takes to say, drops the corpse into his 

 big pocket, and encourages his champion to a new- 

 encounter. Mark used always to carry a pocketful of 

 grain or other bird food about with him when he went 



