130 O'er Crag and Torrent 



accept his kind invitation. I was quite 

 prepared for a pipe- opener, for I knew 

 the ground ; and my friend the Skipper, 

 in addition to being a nailing good shot, 

 was a rare fast walker, and as good a 

 stayer as a Grand National winner. The 

 eventful day arrived, and such a day as 

 it was blowing a perfect hurricane and 

 with heavy torrential showers at pretty 

 frequent intervals ; in fact, the sort of 

 day one would infinitely rather be looking 

 out of one's club-room window than braving 

 the elements on Dartmoor, and chasing wild 

 partridges up and down goyles and hills. 



A short railway journey, and I detrained 

 to find a trap waiting for me, and soon I 

 was bowling along to my destination. The 

 Skipper and his wife gave me a kindly 

 welcome, the latter murmuring something 

 about a lunatic asylum, and demented to 

 dream of shooting in such fearful weather ; 



