78 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



No sportsman unless he has himself witnessed it can 

 have any idea of the speed in running that a Blackcock 

 can attain if hard pressed and actually made to run, as 

 the young cocks have to do when pursued by the old 

 ones. Every now and again one will see these young 

 bloods, who have arrived at a fancied estate of physical 

 perfection, make their appearance amongst the ranks of 

 the old birds. Their pride, however, soon has its fall, 

 and when one of the proper masters of the ring approaches 

 to attack, they suddenly find that their courage has 

 somehow failed them, and that he who fights and runs 

 away may perchance be more successful on some future 

 occasion. Then commences a hurried and ignominious 

 retreat, in which the young bird is pursued by one 

 or more of the justly-incensed ones, and endeavours by 

 the fleetness of his feet to extricate himself from a 

 position which his own temerity has brought him into. 

 This is not effected till he eventually takes flight and 

 departs altogether. His running powers are really very 

 considerable, and he goes for the time as fast as a 

 Partridge, and no one who has seen the latter going 

 down a hedgerow in his best form can assert that the 

 pace is not good. As a rule one does not form a 

 very high opinion of the Blackcock's rate of speed. 

 Knock him over in the open with a broken wing, and 

 you will see he seldom attempts to use his legs to any 

 great extent unless given time : even then he does 

 not hurry much, but covers his ground with the delibera- 

 tion and coolness that characterise all his movements, 

 not attempting perfect concealment till at some distance 

 from the spot where he had been brought down, after 



