290 The Sporting Dog 



She was controlling herself with effort. But the 

 leisurely movements, and slow, warning tones of 

 the man had their effect on the responsive nature 

 of the dog. He came almost close enough to 

 get his hand on her ; not quite, though. At the 

 last moment she could curb herself no longer, 

 and jumped at the hiding quail. The handler 

 reproved her with a stern word and let her go 

 on, keeping her close ahead with repeated 

 commands. 



" I shan't put on the cord if I can get on with- 

 out. She must learn to let me get ahead of her." 



Next time the luck was better. She pointed in 

 erect attitude, head up. The handler drew slowly 

 near, crawling the last few steps to produce the 

 imitative sense of caution. He got his hand on 

 her collar and gradually drew in front, the bitch 

 uneasy but not breaking her point. He let her 

 follow, moving very slowly, for the short distance 

 before he flushed the bird. But he flushed ; not 

 she. That was the object of the meeting and it 

 was accomplished, not only that time but several 

 times before the opportunities on the scattered 

 birds were exhausted. 



We spent the day in the same fashion, putting 

 down each delinquent more than once, and repeat- 

 ing the respective lessons. Each time there was 

 some improvement, except with the jealous Joe. 

 If the handler happened to be very close to the 



