15 



side. And no eye, however keen, could catch 



moi-e than a glimpse of a gray tail before he 



was gone, Other grouse make short, straight 



flights, and can be followed and found again ; ^^^ Of'Beech 



but he always drove away on strong wings 'T^afrid^e 



for an incredible distance, and swerved far to 



right or left ; so that it was a waste of time 



to follow him up. Before you found him 



he had rested his wings and was ready for 



another flight ; and when you did find him, 



he would shoot away like an arrow out of 



the top of a pine tree and give you never a 



glimpse of himself. 



He lived most of the time on a ridge 

 behind the ' Fales place,' an abandoned farm 

 on the east of the old 

 post road. This was his 

 middle range, a place of 

 dense coverts, bullbrier 



