94 DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 



the tale of the squire who, on being interrupted during 

 dinner to be told that John Byles, a beater, had been 

 shot, said, 'Oh, give him a rabbit,' and who, on learning 



that the man was badly shot, said, 'D it, give him 



two then.' 



Shooting is a serious business, and there is no room 

 for larks nor negligence; you should be as smart in 

 handhng your gun as if on parade and with the general's 

 eye upon you. I would not say that occasion might 

 not arise for a bit of fun where a gun is involved, for 

 I was a witness to a little game of the late Mr T. Hoole 

 when he was station-master at Wraysbury, where the 

 River Colne passes close by. Being a keen fisherman, 

 he had a fisher's eye for the river's visitors, whether 

 they came on legs or wings. There was another official 

 at the station who sometimes disturbed duck, that 

 had come in the night to feed on the weedy shallow, 

 by the clang of altering signals. Now and then, 

 by a stealthy look round with a gun before com- 

 mencing work, he got a shot. Hoole, ever full of 

 tricks and fun, borrowed from Squire Walker's keeper 

 a decoy, the most natural imitation of a duck that 

 I had ever seen, and, while the shooter was off from 

 duty, fixed it to a sunken peg that had a staple, 

 through which a second cord ran from the bird to a 

 pale of the platform fence. 



When the man came on duty he was told that 

 a duck had been seen from the bridge, and it was 

 from there he saw a movement amongst the rushes 

 in answer to the hidden string. He hurried to the 

 station-master, who WcLS looking very innocent, for 

 permission to fetch his gun, and, when he got the 

 answer, 'Yes, you may, but don't be long,' he was 

 off at a run, and was soon back, to find the duck 

 still there. He fired, and in response the bird went 

 under, head first, in the most natural way, to appear 

 again and get another charge of shot and dive again 

 and, after that, to come up again quite lively. 



