244 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



account of a stray pellet in his person was more than 

 satisfied. " Bless you, sir," he said, " you may give 

 me the other barrel for another of 'em." But beaters 

 always find contentment in a tip, whatever its 

 size. We recall how three beaters were more or 

 less bagged successively during a three days' covert 

 shoot. One, at the time, appeared to have had his 

 right eye destroyed, but saw his way to accept twenty- 

 five shillings. Another buried a shot in his little 

 finger, and on receiving seven shillings was eager to 

 undergo the same treatment for six days a week. A 

 third was peppered behind, and awarded eighteen- 

 pence, which satisfied him, being, as he lamented, 

 " only a boy, like." By the way, there seems no 

 place in the sportsman's scale of tips for awards for 

 narrow escapes. We have known a keeper mention 

 the fact quite unavailingly that his cap had been shot 

 from his head by a careless gunner, who had brought 

 down an easy bird with his first barrel, then, swinging 

 round, had blazed at a second bird just as it topped 

 the keeper's head. " Aw," he drawled, by way of 

 answer, when the keeper respectfully intimated that 

 he had escaped death by a miracle, " I certainly ought 

 to have killed both of those birds." 



How many foxes have owed their deaths indirectly to 

 covert shooting ? It is a nice question for hunting 

 men. The fox is one of the craftiest creatures in the 

 world. A very short experience is enough to make; 



