HADJ ANO 

 move in line with us, remaining 

 himself on terra firma. I earnestly 

 begged silence now, as we were 

 drawing up to the end of the beat, 

 and for a short distance all went well 

 save for the noisy floundering of the 

 captain, who was rapidly getting 

 rather done in spite of our slow pace 

 through the hummocky reeds. 



Presently a great common heavy 

 hawk flapped his way lazily over — a 

 shout of warning from Pierre, and 

 bang ! bang ! bang ! bang ! — four 

 barrels of snipe-shot at fifty yards' 

 distance had the effect of making 

 him smile as he winked the other 

 eye. It did not make me smile, 

 especially when one of them, noticing 

 that I had not taken part in the 

 volley, said, in a tone of remon- 

 182 



