204 



RECREATION. 



hoping to wear off the sharp edge of 

 his desire. The grass and weeds 

 were heavy with dew, and our shoes 

 were soon as if they had been dropped 

 into the river. Coming to a low 

 piece of ground which was over- 

 grown with willows, long grass, and 

 cockle burrs, Paddy tore his way 

 into it. Two pheasants arose, and 

 William promptly bagged his bird, 

 while the one I fired at went on to 

 the grain fields. 



Beating some other cover without 

 success, we crossed a fence and en- 

 tered an immense wheat field. The 

 grain was all cut and shocked, mak- 

 ing the scene a typical one of har- 

 vest time. In the thick, smoky at- 

 mosphere of the East, like a mighty 

 disk of copper, rose old Sol. Far 

 away, at the other side of the field, the 

 foreman was steaming up his thresh- 

 ing engine preparatory to the day's 

 work, and the blue smoke floated 

 low beside the giant oaks. 



Entering the field by "a road at our 

 right, came three or four wagon- 

 loads of harvest hands, and the voices 

 of two or three in song floated to our 

 ears. Heavy was the air with the in- 

 cense of the harvest field, and with 

 the odor of broken ferns. It was 

 truly a scene to be remembered, but 

 as Paddy was quartering a patch of 

 heavy weeds and showing considera- 

 ble interest in his work, we turned 

 away. We were awakened from our 

 sentimental mood by the whirr of a 

 pheasant, closely followed by a dozen 

 others. We each got in two barrels, 

 with a net result of two birds. 



So far our actions had notbeen con- 

 ducted with much credit to ourselves, 

 and Paddy looked at us with ill-con- 

 cealed disdain. With mutual admo- 

 nitions to " brace up," we went in 

 pursuit of some of the birds which we 

 had marked down. Crossing a piece 

 of bare stubble, a young cock got up 

 in front of me, and I neatly stopped 

 him. 



Taking Paddy, who had now set- 

 tled down to business, I wandered 

 toward a likely looking corner, while 

 William beat the stubble field. In 

 one corner grows a great oak and 



several ash and cherry trees. The 

 grass remained untouched about 

 these trees, and I felt sure the cover 

 must contain a few birds. Paddy 

 worked up to the place rapidly, made 

 game, and slowed down to a point. 

 Walking up, I flushed two birds, and 

 one of them became my victim. At 

 the report of my gun several others 

 took wing from the other side of the 

 cover, but, sending the dog in, I was 

 rewarded with a fine point. The bird 

 proved to be a royal old cock, and 

 on flushing, he soared right up and 

 off in a bold break for the open field. 

 Away he went, his lorg tail-feathers 

 fluttering gayly in the sultry air, and, 

 feeling sure of my victim, I covered 

 him and watched his gamy flight. 

 Feeling that he was approaching the 

 extreme range of even such good 

 shells as my gun held, I pressed the 

 trigger. At the report of the nitro, 

 something broke, and the beautiful 

 mass of vari-colored feathers came 

 tumbling gracefully to earth. 



Rejoining my companion, who 

 had found no birds, we beat a large 

 field without success, and crossed 

 over to where the threshing machine 

 was at work. The boys told us that 

 birds were frequently found near a 

 vegetable garden not far distant, and 

 we went in that direction. William 

 took the dog, while I went off to find 

 my own birds. Walking along beside 

 a ditch, I stopped to watch William, 

 when a pheasant arose from almost 

 under my feet and offered me a fine 

 chance. I availed myself of the op- 

 portunity, but not of the bird, for 

 with a flirt of his long tail he disap- 

 peared beyond a grove of scrub oaks. 

 William got a bird with the assist- 

 ance of the dog, and we then crossed 

 the road and visited another part of 

 the great farm. We were told that 

 birds would surely be found. Al- 

 though we cautiously worked over 

 the blistering stubble and carefully 

 investigated all covers, we saw not a 

 feather. With the thermometer at 

 90 ° in the shade, such luck was not 

 calculated to put us in the best of 

 humor, and, getting a drink of cold 

 well water, at a farmhouse, we re- 



