CHAPTER III 
GUN-SHYNESS AND RETRIEVING 
I NOW felt it advisable to test Byrd out 
for gun-shyness. The thought was 
hastened by a friend inquiring if I were 
sure she was not gun-shy, and I could tell by 
the way he said it, that he had his doubts due 
to her natural timidness. I answered confi¬ 
dently that I was sure she would not be. 
Nevertheless, I determined to put her to the 
test without waiting longer. My boy’s little 
22 rifle was used as the first firearm of which 
we pulled trigger over her. I used “longs” 
so as to get some mild sort of noise—yet 
these in the open air make but a slim imita¬ 
tion of a shotgun’s sound. Even with this 
mild sounding arm, however, I would not 
risk a shot until she was “in game.” The 
next time Byrd flushed a quail I shot at it 
with the little rifle as it flew away. Oh joy, 
oh bliss—she would not be gun-shy if this 
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