W.VKWKJK WOOULANUS. 6 J 



Shot! There; he has got your dead bird. Was I not 

 right? And look to! for, by Jove! he is standing on an- 

 other, with the dead bird in his mouth! That's pretty, 

 is it not ?'' 



Again two rose, and both were killed ; one by Tom, and 

 one by Archer; my gun hanging fire. 



"That's nine birds down before we have bagged one," 

 said Archer; 'T hope no mure will rise, or we'll bo losing 

 these." 



But this time his hopes were not destined to meet ac- 

 complishment, for seven more woodcock got up, five of 

 which were scattered in the grass around us, wing-broken 

 or dead, before we had even bagged the bird which Shot 

 was gently mouthing. 



"I never saw anything like this in my life, Tom. Did 

 you?" cried Harry. 



"I never did, by George!" responded Tom. "Now do 

 you think there's any three men to be found in York, 

 such darned eternal fools as to be willing to shoot a 

 match agin us?" 



"To be sure I do, lots of them; and to beat us too, to 



boot, you stupid old porpoise. Why, there's Harry T , 



rtnd iSTick L , and a dozen more of them, that you and 



T would have no more chance with, than a gallon of 

 brandy would have of escaping from you at a single sit- 

 ting. But we have shot pretty well, to-day. Now do, for 

 heaven's sake, let us try to bag them !" 



And scattered though they were in all directions, among 

 the most infernal tangled grass I ever stood on, those 

 excellent dogs retrieved them one by one, till every bird 

 was pocketed. We then beat on and swept the rest ot 

 the meadow, and the outer verge of the alders, picking up 

 three more birds, making a total of seventeen brought to 

 bag in less than half an hour. We then proceeded to the 

 wagon, took a good pull of water from a beautiful clear 

 spring by the road-side, properly qualified with whiskey, 

 and rattled on about one mile farther to the second bridge. 

 Here we again got out. 



"Now, Tim," said Harry, "mark me well I Drive gently 

 to the old barrack yonder under the west-end of that wood- 

 side, unhitch the horses and tie them in the shade; you 

 can give them a bite of meadow hay at the same time; 



