BLACKCOCK SHOOTING 107 



an easy spot to mark. Seeing that we were not 

 likely to get near him by advancing, I halted the 

 beaters, and expressed my intention of outgeneral- 

 ing that wily Blackcock by stealing a march upon 

 him. The beaters were to remain where they were 

 for fifteen minutes, while I was to make a dHour to 

 the left, cross the moor, and then swing round to 

 the right behind the shoulder of the hill on which 

 our quarry was resting. This ruse had the desired 

 effect. At the appointed time the beaters ad- 

 vanced, and I had not been long in ambush when 

 the welcome cry was heard "Mark over!" In a 

 few seconds the bird came swinging round the hill, 

 following, as it seemed, the curve of the ground. 

 As the gun went up he saw me and swerved, but 

 too late to save himself He was barely thirty 

 yards off, and fell to an easy shot. The beaters 

 were delighted, and so, in truth, was the shooter. 

 To have found three Blackcock and killed two of 

 them was considered good enough for one after- 

 noon, and as we tramped back to the house, the 

 thorough drenching which we had undergone was 

 forgotten in the triumph of the moment. 



