Long Tails and Short Ones. 75 



him for some days. He had a green shade on, and appeared to have been 

 in the wars, which wasn't so remarkable then as it would be nowadays. 

 " What's the matter, old man ? " 



" The oddest thing. That fellow Fipps, you know, came up to town the 

 other day. He called at my chambers. ' Look here, Muster Bush,' said he ; 

 you said t'other day as you'd give me a jacketing. No man never said that 

 to me, sir, gentle nor simple, as I didn't give him a chance for to do it. Ef 

 'twas bounce you've only to say so, and I begs your pardon for intrudin' on 

 ye. Ef 'taint, and ye means it, here I be, and, if you can jacket me, darned 

 if I don't let ye the shootin' if ye'll give me a walk now and then.' I said 

 nothing. I knew I'd a tough customer to deal with, and resolved to be 

 cautious, and it was well I did. I got up and took oft" my coat and 

 waistcoat and so did he ; we shoved the table and chairs in a corner, shook 

 hands, and at it we went. You know that I'm pretty good at it — above the 

 average, I may say — but, if I hadn't been a wee bit cleverer and more 

 cautious than he was, he'd have thrashed me hollow ; but, after as hot a 

 twenty-five minutes as ever I had in my life, and when I was as near 

 pumped as need be, he cried a go — ' not,' as he said, ' but what he could 

 have stood another round or two, but he was satisfied that I was best man.' 

 Blessed if I was, though ; but all's well that ends well. Then we shook 

 hands again, washed ourselves, drank doch-an-dhurris, and parted with 

 mutual good will. He lets me liis shooting for 20^. a year and a walk with 

 us now and then, and it's worth a hundred to us. Bum chap, you know, 

 but not half as bad as we thought him. Things look so different from 

 different sides of the hedge. He told me the story of his row with my 

 landlord, and I confess he hadn't been quite well treated. He shoots with 

 us next Wednesday. Come down and meet liim." 



I did ; and I often met Phipps afterwards. Not half a bad fellow either 

 — a right good shot, a capital sportsman, and worth twenty keepers. As for 

 the diabolical dog, Budge by name, we quite adore him. He's the funniest, 

 cleverest, best-natured dog I ever saw, and that's saying a lot. Raymond 

 lost his pocket book one day in a tliick copse, with lots of notes and papers 

 of importance in it. We looked for it for hours ; then we thought of Budge, 

 and Budge found it like a detective. I beg pardon, I should have said 



