

ARWICK WOODLANDS. 27 



he was gone, just as my barrel sent its charge into the splinter- 

 ed branches. 



'* Beautiful !" shouted Harry, who, looking through a cross 

 glade, saw the bird fall, which I could not. " Beautiful shot, 

 Frank ! Do all your work like that, and we'll get twenty couple 

 before night !"" 



"Have 1 killed him !" answered I, half doubting if he were 

 not quizzing me. 



" Killed him ? of course you have ; doubled him up complete- 

 ly ! But look sharp ! there are more birds before me ! I can 

 hardly keep the dogs down, now ! There ! there goes one 

 clean out of shot of me, though ! Mark ! mark, Tom ! Gad, how 

 the fat dog's running !" he continued. "He sees him! Ten 

 to one he gets him ! There he goes bang! Along shot, and 

 killed clean !" 



44 Ready !" cried I. " I'm ready, Archer 1" 



" Bag your bird, then. He lies under that dock leaf, at the 

 foot of yon red maple ! That's it ; you've got him. Steady 

 now, till Tom gets loaded !" 



" What did you do ?'' asked I. " You fired twice, I think !" 



" Killed two !" he answered. " Ready, now !" and on he went, 

 smashing away the boughs before him, while ever and anon I 

 heard his cheery voice, calling or whistling to his dogs, or rous- 

 ing up the tenants of some thickets into which even he could 

 not force his way ; and I, creeping, as best I might, among the 

 tangled brush, now plunging half thigh deep in holes full of 

 tenacious mire, now blundering over the moss-covered stubs, 

 pressed forward, fancying every instant that the rustling of the 

 briers against my jacket was the flip-flap of a rising woodcock. 

 Suddenly, after bursting through a mass of thorns and wild- 

 vine, which was in truth almost impassable, I came upon a little 

 grassy spot quite clear of trees, and covered with the tenderest 

 verdure, through which a narrow rill stole silently ; and as I set 

 my first foot on it, up jumped, with his beautiful variegated back 

 all reddened by the sunbeams, a fine and full-fed woodcock, 

 with the peculiar twitter which he utters when surprised. He 

 had not gone ten yards, however, before my gun was at my 

 shoulder and the trigger drawn ; before I heard the crack I saw 

 him cringe ; and, as the white smoke drifted off to leeward, he 

 fell heavily, completely riddled by the shot, into the brake be- 

 fore me ; while at the same moment, whir-r-r ! up sprung a 

 bevy of twenty quail, at least, startling me for the moment by 



