A Sportsman at Large 221 



this adventurous voyage since there was not very much to 

 say, except as regards quail. These had begun to show in 

 considerable quantities soon after our arrival in Cairo, and we 

 had then some excellent days in the Pyramid district. 



On one occasion we were shooting through a field of grain 

 when a brown owl arose in front of the line. It was not 

 fired at, but being evidently scared out of its wits, it gave a 

 sudden twist in the air and fell to the ground. When we 

 picked it up we found that its left wing was broken at the 

 first pinion. Never have I come across any sportsman who 

 had witnessed a similar casualty. 



When the quail were flushed in quantities, the falconida 

 of various species became very busy. As the little birds rose, 

 the hawks would stoop to them, just out of reach of the guns, 

 and many a victim did we see so struck. A curious incident 

 occuired when one day a quail rose about twenty yards in 

 front of Ted. As he threw up his gun, a small hawk dashed 

 from behind him without his seeing it. It struck the quail 

 just as my cousin fired, and the two birds were killed. The 

 hawk was one of those pretty little French-grey hen-harriers. 

 I had it set up to grace my collection in " Old Blighty." 

 Another time we were beating out a lentil field, in which 

 several sacks of some dressing for the land were scattered about. 

 Ted let off at a quail, when one of these apparently inanimate 

 objects jumped up with a loud yell ! No sack this, but an 

 unfortunate fellah who had received a peppering of my com- 

 panion's shot in the most prominent part of his person. 

 Naturally, the shooter was in a terrible state of mind, but 

 Farag soon put matters right by shaking the victim roughly 

 by the shoulders, and pouring out a string of invectives, which 

 it was as well, perhaps, that we could not translate. When 

 we asked him what he had said to the wounded man, his 

 reply was : 



" I tell him I kick him with stick if he make any more 

 noise. I say Ba-sha furious, for he get in the way." 



This was all very well, but tender-hearted Ted would not 

 allow our Shikari to get away with it. So, approaching his 

 victim, he pressed several substantial coins into his ready 

 palm ; whereupon Farag and the " casualty " had another 



