COVERT-SHOOTING. 141 



And now the pheasants come quicker, and the firing 

 becomes fast and furious, till behind each gun lie many 

 little feathered lumps of varied hues on the smooth 

 turf. Now and then, though very rarely, in the 



CAUTION. 



hurry and heat of the action, even these professors 

 shoot a little behind a bird, and he carries on sorely 

 wounded, but is usually marked down and gathered 

 by watchful keepers, who stand with retrievers far 

 behind the guns. Sometimes, too, though still more 



