THE FAMILY OF WADERS. 249 



fall, a capital right and left, a kind of performance 

 John is rather noted for. As he comes back with 

 the birds, their fine wings flick and brush the tur- 

 nip-leaves at each step he takes. This slightly 

 puzzles Don, for they are very different from the 

 partridges, to which he has been more accustomed. 

 Ned or, as he is usually called, Neddy has 

 bolted across the road from the farm, with a broad 

 grin on his face, to meet his master, congratulate 

 him on his luck, and pat old Don. 



" You've got 'em, Master John ; I said that you'd 

 clip 'em." 



" Yes, they are clipped right enough, Neddy," 

 replies John ; " and you can have the pair for the 

 missis and youngsters," adding, when we were out 

 of sight and hearing, " They will get through the 

 job right enough; but, so far as I'm concerned, I 

 decline curlews that have fed on the ooze for any 

 time." 



And yet no bird is more eagerly sought after 

 than the curlew, for the bird's bump of self-preser- 

 vation is so largely developed that it is considered 

 a feather in a shooter's cap to take the rise out of 

 one neatly. All coast lads are born with fowling 



