1 86 Sporting Sketches 



set and still be working merrily, and the cock would 

 dart swift and free among the leafless maples, to be 

 stopped but by a master hand. He had enjoyed him- 

 self fairly well, but he had seen something that sad- 

 dened him. Through the very centre of the cover 

 was a row of stakes driven into the soil that had fed 

 cock for years. 



" Is that the railway line, Duckett ? " 



" Yaas, de surveyors were froo hyar 'bout free 

 mumfs back." 



" Umph ! Old boy, we got 'em to-day ; but next 

 season fellows will be jumping off the trains and 

 hunting our grounds to death. There'll be a guide- 

 book saying quail, cock, and grouse are plentiful in 

 this vicinity, and twenty guns will be roaring in our 

 choicest covers. But let's dig out, for yonder comes 

 your storm." 



A short distance away they met a negro with a 

 gun. Quoth Duckett: 



" Dar you be, hey ? But yo' done cum too late. 

 Dat ar Jones is allus a-sneakin' on me. I tole yo' 

 dat he spishuned sumpfm." 



