316 PHEASANTS 



the far side, and like Agag, treading 

 delicately among the mass of pheasants, 

 flushes them by twos and threes. Four 

 times his red waistcoat has appeared 

 through the bushes in front of the guns, 

 only to flash round the corner, as its 

 owner runs back to start through again, 

 before all hands are called to the far side, 

 and the last pheasant sent over the guns. 



All this time there has been hot work 

 outside, heavy shooting for those in the 

 front line, better birds if fewer for the 

 guns behind, while in rear of all, the 

 occasional pheasant that has beaten all 

 the three ordered lines of guns, must 

 still reckon with the efforts of guerillas 

 skirmishing in the background, where 

 sundry gunners are allowed to take their 

 chances of sport. 



Once — it was not actually at Scar- 

 borough, but at the Old Common, always 

 shot on the following day — we had the 

 fun of seeing one of the crack shots 

 of England having his eye wiped time 

 after time by the wielder of a mighty 



