164 ECHOES OF SPORT 



likely caper place, and came and stood him- 

 self beside me, to back up my twenty-bore 

 with his larger twelve. 



We were at the top, fairly in the open, just 

 outside a lot of scrub, birch, and oak, and near 

 some remains of old shielings. One or two 

 pheasants came over, which were soon ac- 

 counted for, and then, coming straight at 

 me, I saw a large, flapping black thing. " A 

 turkey cock," was my only conscious thought. 

 " Shoot, shoot! " commanded my host's voice 

 close to me. I obeyed. The black beast was 

 right above me ; at my first barrel down he 

 swooped, at the second a magnificent caper- 

 cailzie cock lay dead within fifteen yards of 

 me. 



My delight was great, and I owed it all to 

 my good host, first for putting me where he 

 did, and then for bringing me to my senses by 

 his order to shoot when I was prepared to 

 stand gaping at my fancied fly ing bubbly-jock. 



That was my first caper ; he will probably 

 be my last, for caper cocks don't often come 

 within such easy range of a twenty-bore gun as 



