A Sportsman at Large 9 



Henceforth my passage between school and home, sweet 

 home, was undisturbed by further attacks of this unspeakable 

 and cowardly hooligan. 



In the Armoury at Moat Mount there was an assortment 

 of strange weapons, which The Dads had picked up at various 

 sales. The dear old man had a craze for attending Christie's 

 and other auctioneering establishments, and bidding boldly 

 for an astounding quantity of rubbish of a very polyglot 

 description. Hence the why and wherefore of the aforesaid 

 firearms. 



But my ambitious eye was upon them, and I determined 

 to see which of them could be turned to practical use. Finally 

 I selected what, I had been told by the purchaser, was known 

 as a polygroove rifle. It had a long barrel which, indeed, was 

 heavily rifled of course it was a single barrel affair, and a 

 muzzle-loader to boot. 



The day came for the great adventure, when The Dads 

 was safely away attending to his judicial duties and The 

 Mums was taking her annual holiday, with my sisters, by the 

 sad sea waves. Rank burglary had to be resorted to before 

 I could commandeer my father's shot and powder, and even 

 then I had to fashion a ramrod out of the ash stick which had 

 been intended for violent application to my own vile body ; 

 but which, as stated, had been generously presented to me 

 in more gentle fashion by The Dads. 



But search as I would, no wads were to be found. 



Was I to be thus frustrated of my evil intent ? By no 

 manner of means ! I proceeded to insert in the barrel of my 

 surreptitiously acquired weapon what I judged to be about 

 three drams of black powder. On the top of this a wad of 

 newspaper was tightly rammed, followed by a handful of 

 No. 8 shot, with a similar incubus on top of it. Then I sallied 

 forth. 



As in the case of my angling, ambition did not suggest any 

 victim more important than the first small bird which was 

 unlucky enough to allow me to approach within what I con- 

 sidered to be reasonable range. 



My first victim was a " blue- tit." It was busy on the sum- 

 mit of a small fir. If it was not singing " Tit-willow, tit- 



