122 
BIRDS OF LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND. 
with outstretched wings on the edge of one of the nests, I fired, cutting him 
headlong into it. Great was the jubilation ! for, as he fell, we imagined we could 
see the black and white plumage, and the long plumes, of a fully mature bird- 
Now for the best climber ! Lucas ran to the tree and began to ascend, but, as he 
did so, the wounded bird rose upright in the nest, and I, fearing he was but 
slightly hit and would get away like the first, fired again from the same spot, and 
this time he lay lifeless, half in and half out of the nest, and, as his head depended, 
Ave could see his beautiful white neck plumes and long black crest. Manfully 
struggling upward, taking advantage of every twig and every hollow for the 
foot, the keeper got along bravely, until met midway by a huge boss which, 
jutting out, barred his progress. In vain he tried to get around it, and, coming 
down, confessed himself beaten. I then tried myself, with less success, and, dis- 
regarding his protestations that the feat of getting either bird or nest out of the 
tree was impossible, sent him off for a long rope and more string. He was 
away for about an hour and a half, and during that time a bird which I judged to 
be a female, came to the next nest to that in which I had lost the first bird, and 
settled. Again the rifle rang out, and brought it to bag — this bird, a young female, 
falling dead out of the tree to the ground. Its mouth was full of Loach, and, 
whilst warm, I noted the colour of the eyes and soft parts, and then covered it up 
with my great-coat, to protect it from the rain which was falling, and making 
things so uncomfortable that I was not sorry when Lucas brought the lunch. 
After this I essayed with him to throw the rope over a limb of the tree just 
above the boss, but a few trials convinced us that gravity was not at all willing to 
be overcome in that manner. Lucas tired of this fun very soon, and was more 
than willing to give it up, but I pointed out that “metallic ointment” was 
good for sprains and bruises, and having by this time tied two of his cartridges to a 
length of string, I managed, at the sixteenth throw, to lodge it over the limb, and 
by careful manipulation got the end to the ground. The rope being tied to this 
was drawn back slowly over the limb above the boss. All was now easy climbing ; 
both ends of the rope being made fast to the trunk close to the ground, Lucas 
went up hand over hand, and gradually wriggled himself over the boss, and rested 
on the fork. Here another difficulty presented itself Just above were three other 
limbs, jutting out so awkwardly as to obstruct his passage, but by dint of coaxing 
and chaffing I persuaded him to persevere, and he managed, by propping himself 
with his back to the trunk, to throw the rope, loosened from below, over the limbs 
above, and so progressed another stage. At this juncture I sent him up a little 
“ fire-water,” by the aid of the weighted string he carried in his pocket. So he 
ascended, vowing at every step he could get no higher, and proclaiming his rooted 
objection to “ such hard work as this.” At last, when quite near the nest, made 
nervous perhaps by the thinness of the branches, he sang out, “ I zay, zur, I can’t 
go no furder, this ’ere is too ’ard work for me.” “ Lucas,” I shouted up, “ you 
MUST, and directly the nest reaches the ground, you shall have a sovereign.” At 
