i6o HIGHLAND SPORT 



rest of his speech, and, turning to his servant, the Colonel said 

 softly, " Take away the wine, then as soon as the room is 

 cleared, tell Mrs. Spiller her husband wishes to see her !" 



Arrived in our host's den, we lit cigars in silence, which the 

 Colonel broke by saying — 



" Well, I can only offer you both my apologies for Captain 

 Spiller's behaviour, and now I'm going to send him a note, to 

 be delivered in the morning, enclosing him a cheque for his 

 two hundred and fifty pounds, with a request that he will quit 

 Monnielack to-morrow ; and though that will reduce our party 

 to three, I feel sure we shall still have good sport in pleasanter 

 company." 



Having announced our approval of this plan, we talked 

 while the Colonel wrote his letter, and that done, he joined us 

 in better spirits, saying — 



" Well, since you two have been talking over your sport, 

 let me now tell something about mine. The Captain is abso- 

 lutely the greatest duffer with a gun that I ever came across, 

 for he is highly dangerous to those who are out with him, 

 and wounded my best setter badly. Black game poults, with 

 young pheasants that could hardly fly, he never missed, while 

 grouse that could fly he never touched. He swore at my 

 keeper, and told me I was not taking him to my best ground, 

 while insinuating I was keeping back the cream of it till his 

 month was over. Thank goodness, I managed to keep my 

 temper, and, luckily, that extra bottle of champagne this 

 evening will be ample excuse for kicking him out." 



Next day, therefore, we sat down to dinner a very pleasant 

 party of three. 



" The fellow has had the good grace to leave me a few lines 

 of apology," said the Colonel ; and then Captain Spiller with 

 his bride were forgotten, while all went so well that one day, 

 when Auldjoe and I were shooting together, I said to him — 



" This is really a very good place and the Colonel is a 

 capital fellow, while there is no bother or trouble about any- 



