THE KEEPER'S DOGS 195 



away from the rest and falling like a stone, he soon 



begins to watch for the bird that towers, even without 



the exhortation, " Mark that bird ! " A 



T* 16 clever retriever will mark the distant fall of 



Keeper's , . , , , . . _ . , 



Dogs a IT( * seen " v no one but himself, and either 



will dash off for the spot or show strong 

 symptoms of wanting to go. The well-trained dog 

 finds the bird that he has not seen fall. On being 

 ordered to "go on " he gallops in the direction 

 indicated by a wave of his master's hand, and when 

 he hears the word " Halt," or sees a hand-signal, then 

 he begins to cast, and seldom in vain. A retriever 

 will retrace his steps for a couple of miles or more to 

 bring home a dead rabbit or bird which his master has 

 left behind in mistake. One fine retriever had been 

 trained never to give up game except to her master ; 

 and it happened that as she was picking up a dead 

 hare another was wounded and ran away before her. 

 She set off in pursuit, carrying the dead hare, and 

 though every man in a long line of beaters, keepers, 

 and guns attempted to relieve her of her burden, she 

 refused to give it up. On catching the wounded 

 hare, she calmly held it down with one paw and waited 

 until her master came to her assistance. Keepers, of 

 all men, have least doubt about the reasoning powers 

 of their dogs. 



Autumn brings with woodcock the woodcock owls 

 as the short-eared owls are called, because their 



