OLD MICHAELMAS DAY 301 



the second gun as the same bird swings 

 round behind and you feel that the day 

 has begun well, for here you are, three 

 birds to the good, and the other guns only 

 now hurrying to their places. 



Soon the faint blast of a horn an- 

 nounces that the drivers have started, 

 and though nothing comes your way, the 

 centre guns are soon hard at work, each 

 covey and there are many paying due 

 toll for its passage. Having nothing to 

 occupy your attention, you find it a 

 pleasure to watch the * professors ' at 

 work. Their accuracy does not seem so 

 surprising you can hold a gun fairly 

 straight yourself but the pace they do it 

 at does strike you as wonderful. No signs 

 of fluster or flurry, yet they are shooting 

 three birds where you couldn't fire at 

 more than two, and killing them cleanly 

 withal, just a tiny puff of the neck 

 feathers to show that the bird has it in 

 the right place. Occasionally a single 

 bird turns from the shooting and gives 

 you an opportunity of wiping some one's 



