378 Sporting Sketches 



and drew the long body through my gripping left 

 hand a stripping process that is good for dead 

 hares. His ears looked like the top of a pepper- 

 caster, and I gloried in the swift, clean work. Then 

 I carried the prize to the radiant owner. 



Rail against it if you must, O prudes, but I be- 

 lieve in any rational sport which can kindle the 

 spark of triumph in a woman's eye and send the 

 rich red of pure delight to her cheek. As I looked 

 at her and heard her ecstatic " My, he's a fine fat 

 fellow ! " it did seem that any decent buck rabbit 

 ought to welcome annihilation from such a source. 

 Being a man, and just naturally more or less of a 

 brute, all I said was 



" Awfully sorry, coz, but I couldn't help shooting 

 ahead of you weren't you a trifle slow ? " 



She looked me squarely in the eye for what felt 

 like an hour, then the words came like the final ham- 

 mer-raps on a rivet 



" Y-o-u b-r-u-t-e ! And you standing there with 

 your back humped and everything pulled in like an 

 old mud-turtle, when I wasn't holding within ten 

 yards of you ! " 



