ANECDOTES AND ADVENTURES 281 



down. It was not, though. The wild hawk, furious, turned 

 away, and, to vent her rage, made a savage shot at the ears of 

 a hare which happened at the moment to be running along the 

 valley ; while Eva, descending slowly on the side of the down, 

 had just recovered her breath by the time I got up. 



On a second occasion Eva was almost equally high, and still 

 ringing to get above her lark, when she suddenly spread her 

 wings and swerved in her course. At the same moment Major 

 Fisher, who was out on horseback, shouted, " The wild merlin ! " 

 But this time Eva was not going to join in any duet. The wild 

 hawk had come up on a much lower level than the trained one 

 had attained, possibly thinking that when Eva had done the 

 hard work of the early stoops she might cut in and reap the 

 benefit. At anyrate, Eva was not to be so dealt with. Poising 

 herself like a falcon when the grouse get up, she turned over and 

 came down with every ounce of force she could muster right at 

 the interloper. Of course she did not hit her. The two went 

 off, stooping at one another, and were soon out of sight. Major 

 Fisher rode after them, field-glass in hand, predicting that the 

 wild hawk would chase Eva away. But in less than two 

 minutes he espied a merlin coming back ; and the trained hawk, 

 in one long slanting fall from out of sight, descended daintily 

 upon the lure held in her owner's fist. 



Queen was a first-rate merlin — sister of Jubilee, and also, 

 though younger by a year, of Tagrag. She started at a ringing 

 lark in a very open place, and it was a case of hard running, 

 for there were no markers out. Before half a mile was covered 

 they were over a sloping brow. By a desperate spurt I reached 

 the ridge, when the hawk was in sight again. The ground 

 sloped downwards for half a mile more ; and in the valley, far 

 away, was a sheepfold, with sheep, shepherd, and a dog. For 

 this fold the quarry was of course making. Anyhow, there 

 would be the shepherd to mark ; and a shout might reach even 

 his rather inattentive ear. It was too far to see the hawk as 

 she stooped ; but when she threw up, and when she turned over, 

 the sunlight caught the under-surface of her wing or tail, and 

 showed where she was ; and the last gleam came from painfully 

 near the sheep. The running was easier downhill ; and soon 

 the shepherd was within hail. " Where is the hawk ? " Reply 

 inaudible up-wind. Thirty yards farther on the words could 

 be heard, " Gone back where you come from." Then, of course, 

 she had lost the lark — rather luckily, having regard to the dog 

 — and had passed me unnoticed, flying low. Well, the hill 



