28 A Sportsman at Large 



We were after covey No. 2 one of about eight birds only. 

 They had risen to Irwin and Gaffer Bill, so that neither The 

 Dads nor I had a chance of loosing off at them ; but, as on the 

 previous occasion, the survivors had scattered promisingly. 

 One bird came back, over our heads, unobserved by any 

 of the party save myself ; but I marked him (it turned out to 

 be the old cock) carefully, into a small, triangular patch of 

 mangolds. 



Waiting my opportunity and taking Toby with me, I slipped 

 away from the others, waited until they were lost to sight, if 

 not to memory dear, and then made for the said roots, which 

 I carefully walked across and across ; but devil a partridge 

 was forthcoming. I was just about to " chuck it," thoroughly 

 defeated, when I noticed the faithful Tobias with ears well 

 cocked and stumpy tail violently oscillating, a hundred to the 

 second, marking something in a stack of pea-sticks at the end 

 of the patch. 



" Ah," thought I, " a bunny ! I'll have his blood ; better 

 half a loaf than no bread ! " 



Next moment there was a fluttering and whirling of wings, 

 and then, with plaintive " chir-r-r whits," out came the 

 desirable old cock. He gave me a fair chance, and, to my 

 intense joy, he fell to my shot. No doubt about it this time ! 

 Then there was a pretty race between Toby and myself to 

 the fallen bird. I knew how quickly my mongrel would 

 dismember the prey, given half a chance. 



He won by a bare length, but I was so close up that, as soon 

 as he set teeth in the bird, and before he could effect any 

 serious damange, I had him by the throat and choked him off. 



My first partridge ! 



Oh, I was a happy lad ! 



