Sketches in I he East and IVest 275 



as if she never saw a gun. If it's a field where 

 birds use, then she goes out, and the beagles fol- 

 low Billy and never try to get ten feet away. He's 

 got no land of his own and he will gun around. 

 Before Christmas he's generally got all the rabbits 

 and birds thinned out except mine. He has some 

 respect for me or is afraid I'll have his dogs shot. 

 But these farmers who do their own work he just 

 holds as natural prey for a gunner who has sportin' 

 blood." 



By this time we had come to the old orchard, 

 the dogs at heel. 



" One at a time is best for them," said the doc- 

 tor. "Hicks! g'wan!" 



The dog galloped out, following the hand to 

 the right. 



"Bob! g'wan!" And Bob went to the left 

 along a fence in the corners of which were 

 bushes and briers. But the birds were resting 

 in the centre of the orchard, where four or five 

 rails had been left irregularly piled across one 

 another. After ranging along the sides, stopping 

 to nose out a bush or a clump of grass, as the old 

 " natives " nearly always did, they were brought 

 down toward us through the trees. The liver- 

 and-white caught scent barely in time. The 

 birds had not been moving. But he was in time 

 and froze stiff, the other backing instantly. The 

 doctor brought down two birds, and I punctured 



