CHILL OCTOBER 221 



and a stony place between two bums for which 

 they have an unaccountable fondness, yield us 

 a few more snipe, and we are at Kilmichael 

 bridge ; and, as we walk through the farmyard 

 of Achnashellach, we can see that some at 

 least of the grouse and blackgame are already 

 feeding on the stooks of oats in the field by 

 the river, while more are collected on the rock 

 among the heather, and on the green patches 

 on the brae face. The little burn fortunately 

 flows here between steep banks in a sort of 

 gully, and we can easily crawl to our places 

 unperceived. It is a picked place for the 

 sport. Birds just settling to feed generally 

 fly low and slow, and afford an unsatisfactory 

 mark ; but here our ambuscade is in a narrow 

 place, not in the field itself, but halfway be- 

 tween the high hill and the corn, and they 

 come beautifully high down the wind. The 

 keeper is to give us ten minutes law, and 

 then walk through the field and put up what 

 birds are already there, and then concealing 

 himself when this has been done in the plan- 

 tation beyond, to watch where the birds fall. 

 We have about an hour till dusk, and as we 

 take up our positions some eighty yards apart, 

 we can hear the crowing of the cock grouse 

 on the edge of the moor, and see several old 

 blackcocks walking about on the sky-line, 

 preening their glossy feathers, and showing 



