36 The Life Worth Living 



lina, he was two years old and not very 

 good looking. I got him in the spring 

 and had to keep him all summer before I 

 could try him. I didn't like his movements 

 and in general thought him a failure. He 

 was passionately fond of a horse — a rather 

 unusual trait for a bird-dog. So I sent him 

 to the stable and never allowed him to see 

 the inside of the house. 



When the first of November came, I took 

 him out in the field for a trial with little faith 

 in his ability. 



The way he swept that field fairly took my 

 breath ! 



The other dogs simply were not in his class. 

 He was the whole show. He would circle a 

 hedgerow like a white streak of light, sud- 

 denly dart out into the open, his beautiful 

 head flung high in the air, and have the birds 

 before the other dogs had started. 



I hugged him. When we returned home 

 that night he knew the change in his status 



