54 ECHOES OF SPORT 



never reached. Soon after from the field 

 quickly flew another to share his comrade's 

 fate, a grand old cock whose deep sapphire 

 breast gleamed in the strong light, and whose 

 piebald tail will make a good cockade for 

 some one's hat. So it went on ; birds seemed 

 to fly at me from every side, some within shot 

 and some without (of mine any way), some 

 coming from the low stubble, put up by the 

 keeper, the others coming from Lol's side, and 

 some on their own. 



Below me the other gun was busy, booming 

 out, and my twenty-bore kept popping back 

 its echoes. The climax of my luck was 

 reached when a perfect swarm of partridges 

 buzzed high and fast over me, and to my 

 second barrel one fell a good sixty yards or 

 more behind my stand. 



All round me lay grouse and black game, 

 the partridge bringing my total up to ten ; 

 five grouse, four black game, one partridge, 

 and every one of them driven shots. For 

 once my little gun had not disgraced itself 

 nor displeased me. " Maister Chairles' " bag 



