16 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 
as the pigeon came in sight, in this case on the far 
side of a big field. 
There were a good many rats about, chiefly in 
some barley-ricks dotted about the farm. Ferreting 
rats in corn-ricks is always likely to prove un- 
satisfactory, because of the difficulty of killing a 
decent proportion of the rats and of securing the 
ferrets. Here again I was lucky. I had two pole- 
cat dog ferrets—brothers. One of them wasa capital 
line ferret, and would hang on to rat or rabbit for 
hours. His brother, quite useless for line work, 
was an ideal ferret for loose work, and, curiously 
enough, he never would stay with a rat or a rabbit, 
nor would he often bite it. The rats I mentioned 
just now lived for the most part in the roofs of the 
ricks, which J would visit about twice a week with 
the loose-working ferret and my gun. And fine 
sport we had. He was a knowing ferret. I had 
only to toss the old chap on to the roof of a rick, 
and be ready for rats. He would range over the 
thatch till he winded a rat, when he would point for 
a moment before diving in and evicting Mr. Decu- 
manus. By trapping at every likely spot round the 
ricks, and in tunnels and so forth in the hedges, I 
managed to overcome the rats. 
There were, too, many magpies, and at one or 
them I made the flukiest shot of my life. Though 
I did not measure it, honestly I should think it was 
very little short of a hundred yards. I never could 
