252 THE GROUSE 



make a pretty shot at a high pigeon, 

 who comes down in a series of Catherine 

 wheels. 



Not nearly so many blackcock come 

 back this time ; the main pack does not 

 appear at all, and most of what do come 

 are single birds. A roebuck comes trip- 

 ping up to where you stand, and you are 

 obliged to harden your heart and shoot 

 him. You feel much relieved that he 

 falls dead to the shot, for it is always 

 an unpleasant performance with a shot- 

 gun, albeit necessary, for he works terrible 

 mischief in the young plantations. 



A woodcock, at the end of the drive, 

 forms a more pleasant interlude, and adds 

 an unexpected variety to the bag, for the 

 foreigners have hardly begun to arrive 

 yet, and the home-bred birds are few and 

 far between. 



When the drive comes in, Macfarlane 

 reports that the main body of the black- 

 game took right across the valley on 

 being disturbed, a long flight, for it is 

 nearly two miles to the far side. He 



