TOM DRAW'S VISIT TO PINE BROOK. 193 



On we went, therefore, Tom Draw swearing strange oaths at 

 the birds, that acted so darnation cur'ous, and at myself and 

 Harry for being such etarnal fools as to have brought him 

 sweatin into them darned stinkin mud-holes ; and I, to say the 

 truth, almost despairing of success. In half an hour's walking 

 we did, however, reach some ground, which yielding far more 

 shelter to the birds, as being meadow-land not pastured, but 

 covered with coarse rushy tussocks seemed to promise some- 

 thing better in the way of sport ; and before we had gone many 

 yards beyond the first fence, a bird rose at long distance to 

 Tom's right, and was cut down immediately by a quick snap 

 shot of that worthy, on whose temper, and ability to shoot, the 

 firmer ground and easier walking had already begun to work a 

 miracle. 



" Who says I can't shoot now, no more than a five-year old, 

 cuss you !" he shouted, dropping the butt of his gun deliberate* 

 ly, when skeap ! skeap ! startled by the near report, two more 

 snipe rose within five yards of him ! fluttered he was assuredly, 

 and fully did I expect to see a clear miss but he refrained, took 

 time, cocked his gun coolly, and letting the birds get twenty 

 yards away, dropped that to his right hand, killed clean with 

 his second barrel, while Harry doubled up the other in his ac- 

 customed style, I not having as yet got a chance of any bird. 



" Down, charge !" said Harry ; " down, charge! Shot, you 

 villain !" for the last bird had fallen wing-tipped only, and was 

 now making ineffectual attempts to rise, bouncing three or four 

 feet from the ground, with his usual cry, and falling back again 

 only to repeat his effort within five minutes this proved too 

 much, as it seemed, for the poor dog's endurance, so that, after 

 rising once or twice uneasily, and sitting down again at his mas- 

 ters's word, he drew on steadily, and began roading the running 

 bird, regardless of the score which he might ha-ve been well 

 aware he was running up against himself. During this business 

 Chase had sat pretty quiet, though I observed a nervous twitch- 

 ing of ears, and a latent spark of the devil in his keen black eye, 

 which led me to expect some mischief, so that I kept my gun 

 all ready for immediate action ; and well it was that I did so ; 

 for the next moment he dashed in, passing Shot, who was 

 pointing steadily enough, and picked up the bird after a trifling 

 scuffle, the result of which was that a couple more snipe were 

 flushed wild by the noise. "Without a moment's hesitation I let 

 drive at them with both barrels, knocking the right hand snipe 

 9 



