OF NEW ENGLAND. 397 
low field, the old cock suddenly squats; then, with wonderful 
rapidity and steps nearly eighteen inches long, he runs across 
this land, the others following. He passes through a dry oak- 
wood, halts a moment for the stragglers, takes breath, and 
then flies silently from the crest of the hill across the little 
valley below. These hurried movements are due to a lad with 
agun and an old dog. The latter of these new comers stops 
suddenly as if paralyzed, and then steps along slowly and 
stealthily to that part of the stubble-field where the birds left 
it, stopping from time to time for his master to come up. Puz- , 
zled, he now returns more rapidly, but circumspectly, to the 
point of the birds’ entrance on the field, and there he is again 
puzzled. His master, after obliging him to go all through the 
stubble, after tramping himself all over this, as well as the 
adjoining woods, shoulders his gun and goes off. Meanwhile, 
our former companions have wandered half a mile further, and, 
after drinking in a lively little brook, have again taken a short 
flight. They are now sitting half asleep in the sunshine on a 
dry, sandy bank, though some are dusting themselves in little 
hollows which they have scratched out, just as hens do. In the 
latter part of the afternoon they return, perhaps by very much 
the same route, and reach the old stubble-field ; but, just when 
they are in the middle of this, a hawk appears, and the whole 
covey instantly squat. Should the marauder detect them, not- 
withstanding the assimilation of their coloring to that of the 
mould and dead vegetation, one must perish. The danger is 
soon past, however, and the birds are feeding again; but they 
squat a second time, because our friend with the gun has re- 
appeared. His dog soon ascertains their position and stops 
again, while the lad advances beyond him. The birds sud- 
denly spring up with a startling whirr, which is immediately 
followed by the bang, bang, of two gun-barrels, which prove 
harmless. The old cock and one or two more go to a patch of 
scrub-oaks, the old hen and three others to a grove of maples; 
no, they have gone into a nasty swamp. The others have 
flown straight to a pine-grove. The old cock and his compan- 
ions race over the dry leaves through the scrub oaks, at the 
