212 THE GROUSE 



it carefully against the front of your butt, 

 and we will allow you half a cigarette 

 while you carefully take stock of your 

 position. 



First make sure that the front of 

 your butt faces square with the line ; a 

 butt set askew to the line is apt to be 

 prolific of accidents among the careless. 

 Note carefully the position of the butts 

 on either side of you, and fix accurately in 

 your mind where the nearest flanker is, if 

 you happen to be flank gun. This world 

 is not all perfection, and in the lower 

 walks of grouse-driving it is by no means 

 uncommon to discover the flanker lying 

 up in the heather forty or fifty yards to 

 your right front, just where, had you not 

 noticed him, you would naturally have 

 taken a bird coming to you on that side, 

 running the risk of destroying at once his 

 eyesight, and, most undeservedly, your 

 own reputation as a safe shot. 



Now study minutely the ground in 

 front of your butt. There is almost in- 

 variably a blind spot to every butt, where 



