WILD LIFE ON THE WING 
more, but now he was afraid of them. Pre- 
viously he had fed openly in the fields in the 
forenoon ; now, as soon as the dew was off the 
gossamers, he went back to the woods. When 
he crossed the stubbles he did not run with his 
head up as heretofore, but crouched low like a 
corncrake ; and he learned to hide so skilfully, 
that a man might walk within thirty yards of 
him without seeing his glossy green neck 
above the clover. The slightest tap of a stick 
was enough to make him run down the hedge 
like a fox. An Irish hare and an Irish 
pheasant are the Ishmaelites of the country- 
side. Every man's hand is against them, and 
now that the day of the " red-licence " is past, 
that hand is more frequently and effectually 
armed. Every Sunday and holiday the Con- 
nells and their peers beat the wood and hedges, 
and by the beginning of October, Creaban was 
as shy as a hawk. About this time, the 
woman in the cabins in the valley began to 
notice that their fowls rambled farther afield 
than usual. At first they set this down to the 
abundant food which the birds found in the 
newly reaped cornfields, but, as time went on, 
they found that not all the band came back. 
Mrs. Kegan's white cock came home one night 
with his head bleeding and his eye knocked 
in ; Mrs. O'Grady's brown rooster had his 
190 
