THE WOODCOCK. 41 



even walking, but merely crawling about and 

 every few minutes stiffening into a point. 



The birds, however, are now wilder than usual, 

 and seeing dozens by no means implies a shower 

 of woodcock. Many rise far ahead of the dog, 

 and before you can come within thirty yards of 

 him. Many lie in the edge of the timber, and 

 wheel away upward while you are inside, or curl 

 around the outer edge. Some twist upward 

 through the tree-tops and then spin away on a 

 straight line ; some whisk away so near the 

 ground, the brown line of their flight is hard to 

 distinguish amid the grass and flowers; others 

 bustle out of sight in a twinkling through some 

 dense thicket ; while of others you see nothing 

 and only hear the mellow whistle of their wing- 

 feathers. 



Who could help missing under such circum- 

 stances? Here goes a bird across an open space 

 only twenty-five yards away. Clearly you see 

 the rich brown robes, and the iron rib of the gun 

 seems pointing just the right distance ahead of 

 the long bill. How cool you feel, and what ex- 

 pectation is crowded into one short moment ! 

 You pull the trigger, and the brown whistles on 



