Tree-Shooting 45 



hare. He came slowly along beside the hedge to- 

 wards me now stopping and looking into it as if 

 seeking a convenient place for a form, having doubt- 

 less been disturbed from that he had first chosen. It 

 was some minutes before he came within range : had 

 I been on the ground most likely he would . have 

 scented me, the light air going that way ; but being 

 in the tree the wind that passed went high over him. 

 For this reason a tree ambush is deadly. It was 

 necessary to get the line of sight clear of twigs, which 

 check and divert shot, and to take a steady aim ; for 

 I had no second barrel, no dog, and had to descend 

 the tree before running. Some leaves were blackened 

 by the flame : the hare simply fell back, stretched his 

 hind legs, quivered, and lay still. Part of the leaf of 

 a plant was fixed in his teeth; he had just had a 

 nibble. 



With this success I was satisfied that day ; but the 

 old oak was always a favourite resort, even when 

 nothing particular was in hand. From thence, too, as 

 a base of operations, we made expeditions varying in 

 their object with the season of the year. 



Some distance beyond the stunted oak the thick 

 blackthorn hedge was succeeded by a continuous strip 

 of withy-bed bordering the brook. It often occurred 

 to us that by entering these withies it would be possible 



