SHOOTING 321 



a shout at the sight of one, and if they are a scratch 

 lot, the yells that greet its appearance could not be 

 exceeded if half a dozen foxes had been unkennelled 

 at once. They will allow a pheasant or woodcock 

 or, in fact, any other kind of game, to get away 

 silently; but a rabbit is too much for them — why, 

 I do not know ; but such is the fact. In a short 

 time something may be heard coming very rapidly 

 towards the net, and in a minute a splendid old 

 cock-pheasant appears, who runs right up to it ; 

 then, suddenly catching sight of you, back he goes 

 like a racehorse, and you hear the whirr as he rises 

 on meeting the line of beaters, and the cry of " Mark 

 back," succeeded as a rule by two rapid shots, some- 

 times only by a single one, followed by a crash as 

 he comes down through the trees. Next a lot of 

 hen-pheasants come pattering along, crouching as 

 they run with outstretched neck. These come up 

 very quietly, and begin to examine the net closely, 

 walking along it, trying whether they can find a 

 place to pass underneath, and, if they do, they 

 infallibly lead all the rest away ; but, failing this, 

 they squat down and become at once almost in- 

 visible ; so exactly does their plumage assimilate 

 itself to the dead leaves that, unless you happen to 

 catch their eye, you would never detect them. 

 Then come a lot of young cocks in a terrible 



