The Quail 57 



be at all in doubt about his being welcome on a 

 man's place, he will go in a manly, straightforward 

 fashion to the house, and ask permission to shoot 

 over the farm. The careful observance of these 

 little matters is what secures that valuable fran- 

 chise — the freedom of a good shooting district. 

 There are " wrinkles " in this connection, too. A 

 cheery greeting along the road costs nothing, and 

 greases a heap of gear. A small bundle of maga- 

 zines and papers, stale to you, but treasures in the 

 back country, costs only a trifle of trouble, and 

 will be appreciated, never fear ; while the offer of 

 a fair share of the bag at the close of the day at 

 once stamps the maker of it as a man of the 

 proper brand. It is a perfectly safe offer, too, for 

 only once has the writer known it to be smilingly 

 accepted. On that occasion the last leg of the 

 homeward trip was by canoe, and upon disem- 

 barking the old dog kept nosing about the stern 

 of the craft as though something good lay there. 

 It was good — nay, rich ! for it proved to be a 

 bundle which contained the proffered birds, a nice, 

 red, beautifully polished apple, and — a nursing- 

 bottle, full of the sweetest milk. The only fault 

 about the bottle was that the nose was plugged 

 with a pellet of dough. The writer hadn't used a 

 nursing-bottle for forty years, but he had delight- 

 ful recollections. So he squeezed out the bit of 

 dough, munched the apple, and drank the milk 



