WARWICK WOODLANDS. 107 



take along two buckshot cartridges, in case of happening, as 

 Timothy would say, on some big varmint. I have four pockets 

 in my shooting waistcoat, each stitched off into four compartr 

 merits each of which holds, erect, one cartridge you cannot 

 carry them loose in your pocket, as they are very apt to break. 

 Another advantage of this is, that in no way can you carry shot 

 with so little inconvenience, as to weight ; besides which, you 

 load one third quicker, and your gun never leads !' J 



" Well ! I believe I will take some to-day but don't you 

 wait for the Commodore ?'' 



" No ! He drives up, as I told you, from Nyack, where he 

 lands from his yacht, and will be here at twelve o'clock to 

 luncheon ; if he had been coming for the morning shooting, he 

 would have been here ere this. By that time we shall have 

 bagged twenty-five or thirty quail, and a ruffed grouse or two ; 

 besides driving two or three bevies down into the meadows and 

 the alder bushes by the stream, which are quite full of wood- 

 cock. After luncheon, with the Commodore's aid, we will pick 

 up these stragglers, and all the timber-doodles !" 



In another moment the setters were unchained, and came 

 careering, at the top of their speed, into the breakfast room, 

 where Harry stood before the fire, loading his double gun, while 

 Timothy was buttoning on his left leggin. Frank, meanwhile, 

 had taken up his gun, and quietly sneaked out of the door, two 

 flat irregular reports explaining, half a moment after, the pur- 

 port of his absence. 



" Well, now, Frank, that is" expostulated Harry " that is 

 just the most snobbish thing I ever saw you do ; aint you 

 ashamed of yourself now, you genuine cockney!" 



" Not a bit my gun has not been used these three months, 

 and something might have got into the chamber !" 



" Something might not, if when you cleaned it last you had 

 laid a wad in the centre of a bit of greased rag three inches 

 square and rammed it about an inch down the barrel, leaving 

 the ends of the linen hanging out. And by running your rod 

 down you could have ascertained the fact, without unnecessarily 

 fouling your piece. A gun has no right ever to miss fire now ; 

 and never does, if you use Westley Richards' caps, and diamond 

 gunpowder putting the caps on the last thing which has the 

 further advantage of being much the safer plan, and seeing that 

 the powder is up to the cones before you do so. If it is not so, 

 let your hammer down, and give a smart tap to the under side 



