8 How I Became a Sportsman. 



don't suppose gunmakers would have called it 

 a good pattern, as it was considerably uneven 

 — two or three shots close together, and then 

 perhaps an interval of half a foot. No matter, 

 the gun was a gun, would go off, and hit any- 

 thing, as we agreed, and we at once proceeded 

 to put into practice the attempt which is said 

 to be inherent in every Englishman, which I 

 suppose includes boys, " to kill something." 



But whether it was our nervousness, the 

 scattering of the gun, or the unsteadiness of a 

 small boy trying to hold up such a lengthy 

 piece, I don't know, but we had to give it up 

 for that day without a single member of the 

 feathered tribe coming to grief. The next 

 attempt was more successful, having obtained 

 some smaller shot, and also adopted the ex- 

 pedient of getting a rest for the gun, through 

 the fork of a tree, or a friendly bank, until at 

 last we became fairly successful. When I say 

 we, I mean that I did all the shooting, Ben 

 the prompting, general advising, looking on, 

 and approving. 



Shortly before this time I had made the 

 acquaintance of a most valuable auxiliary in 

 the sporting Hne. I was upon terms of nod- 



