so A Sportsman at Large 



sudden bolt and consequent enmeshment in our well-placed 

 snare, when suddenly an icy voice spoke up, close in our rear. 

 It was Irwin, in all the majesty of outraged virtue. 



" Here, you young ruffians, what the h are you doing ? 



You infernal young poachers ! Take that . . . and that ! ! ! " 



The first " that " was a sound clout on the ear for me, 

 which sent me sprawling. The second " that " was a hefty 

 kick on the only visible portion of Edward's anatomy that 

 young sport being half-way down the main earth, listening 

 to the scrap which was going on below. He withdrew himself 

 with a yell of anguish and sprinted off into the thicket. The 

 indignant Irwin took no further notice of his little brother 

 Harding ; but, seizing the ferret line, jerked it so violently 

 that our cherished pet was like to lose his head. As it was, 

 he was incontinently snatched from his encounter with Mr. 

 Coney, and the last I saw of him was being swung round and 

 round at the end of the string, like an animated Catherine 

 wheel, by my infuriated brother as he stalked away. 



I always held a wholesome dread of my half-brother ; 

 though he was generally of a cheery and good-natured dis- 

 position. Even when I was a grown man this feeling survived 

 to some extent. 



My parents, wishing to acclimatize me to the amenities of 

 school life, sent me to Totteridge Park as a day boarder to 

 begin with. As The Dads passed and repassed it morning and 

 evening, when driving his smart cobs to and from Barnet 

 Station, I generally enjoyed a lift each way. 



It was not long before I had my first fight. My opponent 

 was one Georgie Roberts, to whom I had taken an instant 

 and intense liking ; but as is so often the case with sworn pals 

 of the schoolboy persuasion, we fell out about some trifle 

 and came to blows. 



Now, even in those days, I was inflicted by nature with a 

 decidedly prominent proboscis. There never has been any 

 necessity to " land me one on the point " (as located by the 

 experts of The Ring) in order to " put me to sleep/' A 

 well-directed fistic impact with my nasal organ was sufficient. 

 Such a blow would immediately render me hors de combat, 

 blind and bleeding. 



