WARWICK WOODLANDS. 31 



"Cleverly stopped, indeed!" Frank lialloaed; "and by 

 no means an easy shot! and so our work's clean done for 

 this place, at the least!" 



•'The hoy can shoot some," observed Tom Draw, who 

 loved to bother Timothy ; "the boy can shoot some, though 

 he does come from Yorkshire!" 



"Gad! and Ay wush Ay'd no but gotten thee i' York- 

 shire, measter Draa!" responded Tim. 



"Why! what if you had got me there?" 



"What ? Whoy, Ay'd clap thee iv a cage, and hug thee 

 round t' feasts and fairs loike; and shew thee to t' folks 

 at so mooch a head. Ayse sure Ayd mak a fortune o't !" 



"He has you there, Tom ! Ha ! ha ! ha !" laughed 

 Archer. "Tim's down uix)n you there, by ■George ! Now, 

 Frank, do fancy Tom Draw in a cage at Borough-bridge 

 or Catterick fair! Lord! how the folks would pay to 

 look at him ! Fancy th^ sign board too ! The Great 

 American Man-Mammoth ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! But come, we 

 must not stay here talking nonsense, or we shall do no 

 good. Show me, Tim, where are the quail !" 



"Doon i' t' bog meadow yonner! joost i' t' slack,* see 

 thee, there!" pointing with the stout black-thorn; "amang 

 yon bits o' bushes !" 



"Very well — that's it ; now let go the setters ; take Flash 

 and Dan along with you, and cut across the country as 

 straight as you can go to the spring head, where we 

 lunched last year; that day, you know, Tom, when Mc- 

 Tavish frightened the bull out of the meadowy under the 

 pin-oak tree. Well ! put the champagne into the spring 

 to cool, and rest yourself there till we come; we shan't 

 be long behind you." 



Away went Tim, stopping from time to time to mark 

 our progress, and over the fence into the bog meadow we 

 proceeded: a rascally piece of broken tussocky ground, 

 with black mud knee-deep between the hags, all covered 

 with long grass. The third step I took, over I went upon 

 my nose, but luckily avoided shoving my gun-barrels into 

 the filthy mire. 



"Steady, Frank, steady! I'm ashamed of you!" said 

 Harry; "so hot and so impetuous; and your gun too at the 

 full cock; that's the reason, man, why you missed firing 



*Slack — Yorkshire. Anglice, Muist, holloiv. 



