abandoned, its fruit now welcome to such .u. 1 Ayr ' j ) 11 
as he. There, too, is the sun warmed nest 
of young spruces where after lunch the in- 
cense from his pipe will mingle with that - ' r ' * 
distilled by the sun from the spruces. Could W '• 
we but see his face it would show us 
pleasures interspaced in other sun-warmed -> 
nooks yet to come. f^rp • 
W OODCOCK are so dainty, so frail ^ * * . • x * 
that when hit even lightly life de- * j[( n _// 
parts often before they are brought 'G^V f h^crm.J^ u~ —yj(\ 
to hand. Would that the grouse might 
die as quickly since they must die at all! ' iCr y/ (f 
For some sportsmen, at least, who have /[ r* d J££cf~yy 
come to love the birds as naturalists as ' ' 
well as sportsmen, it would draw much of ^-.'y • <£/W\ \ 
the sting from the word sport if the birds ’lyfc/L . V ; \~>xv" iy. 
could be instantly killed or cleanly missed. 
Although the small bore gun drives shot r^XvjD* . ! ;• *’ 
cleanly through upland feathered game, it 
more often than not wings or wounds a coc k had been picked up along the way 
bird which must be put out of misery by and now the alder brook cover was en- 
hand. tered in the last warmth of the afternoon 
For the wounded bird three methods i f n 11 the ho P e ° f ° n e last hour with the little 
have come under observation for ridding e ows UI *til another year. The long ex- 
the bird of misery-and it must be misery panse , of alders showm g far too many bared 
in the full sense of the word since the branches glistening in the level rays of 
grouse are so full of life, so warm blooded the J su , n was combed witho f. ^ward till in 
to withstand our coldest northern winters. a ar . corner out ot which the brook 
There is the old fashioned method of steadily murmured a little russet ball 
wringing the bird’s neck, which, while it uttere U P j b< - an autumn leaf caught 
certainly ends life, often deprives the bird up by a s ^ orm i aden gl \ st of the south wind, 
of its head, making the trophy unsightly A f u " ™ hipped out a douh \ e ^ rack but the 
and at the time of the operation causes a httle f , ellc 7 kept up a st r eady b< T at of , w ! n S 
fluttering and commotion more worthy of n T that he was free of J the alder , th ! cke ^ 
a hand to claw encounter with a panther. and pu J m any a ten rod stretch back of 
A second way takes the form of nipping klm ’ After each had T ? ie g* kl t m ^ elf , ° 
the bird’s neck just back of the head with tke custo ™ ary warning of: Mark! Mark! 
the teeth and by a quick twist downward the a ^emblage gathered, including Ken who 
breaking the bird’s neck-some might not ran hlS n0Se 0ver the ground 1X ! n ? rvo f 
care for this method. Perhaps the best way eage , rness n °t .even neglecting the brook. 
is to whip the bird’s head smartly against a 1 Y e got , him marked down ’ pan A ted 
rock, tree trunk or the gun barrels, thus frank, K f s owne ^ ™ th excitement. And 
making the bird senseless to pain when a he pomted acr ?. ss the level of the meadow 
repetition of the performance causes death 111 a westerly direction He s in that tiny 
save for the usual period of fluttering and pocket out J ;here , in tbe fi eld He didn t 
quivering of the muscles. Whatever the |, 0ok any blgger n a bumblebee when he 
method the work should be thorough be- °X®. “ lt0 lb . , 
fore the bird is pocketed. Without further comment the quartet 
T . , ... , , climbed the, fence while Ken scrambled 
K EN ’ r ? USt . ° u P °! nt , er ’ had Set noisily through it, breaking out with a 
aside the day for hospitality and his muffled howl when a barb of a wire bit 
temporary streak of independence his back bone> and all bore down 
on the 
was reflected in the game bag which held distant spot as though 
on dress parade. 
hardly a square meal. for any one of his The skirmish line drew its net about the 
four masters. Notwithstanding the loud Iittle cover under the direction of Frank . 
wailing at times of his owner Ken was who now stepped into the yo poplars 
determined to gun equally for each of his and b i ackberry briers. With each step he 
four friends who anxiously scrutinized his cautioned all to be in rea diness and Ken 
every move for signs of game. At these backed him up by regular stops> paw 
times when familiar and unmistakable lifted as though for si i ence in which to 
sounds came to him proclaiming in no un- work 
certain way that his P/esence was not only By the time Frank had reached the center 
requested but demanded by his owner, he of the tangle and Ken was lost to view the 
hesitated a moment, smiled and refused skirmish line had struck tense attitudes . 
to cease casting for a bird for one of his Uncle Bm kept opening and closi the 
g .f sts - P erha P s be - too realized the fu- hand which dutche d the grip of his gun 
tility of doing good work for so many guns as though it stung him with each pre ssure. 
and reasoned that one at a time would be Jim chewed the side of his mouth and made 
more gentlemanly, more pursuant in the false starts with his gun . « H en” had 
ong run. struck his “pull” attitude at the traps and 
The day had been spent in typical grouse was leaning as though against a strong 
and woodcock cover, the grouse cover per- wind. Every twig snapped by Frank or 
haps a bit too late for the tjme of the rustle by Ken sent a spasmodic shiver over 
year and the warmth of the day, while the the trio. 
few woodcock all but verified the fears ex- Anon the twigs snapped more sharply and 
pressed in the morning when more than a muffled voice from the thicket warned 
one were of the opinion that the season the line that the owner of the voice was 
was over. Three grouse and a stray wood- coming out. The warning was closely fol¬ 
lowed by Frank’s solemn face which was 
thrust through the bushes and over it lay 
a kindly smile. A further clatter served 
to free him from the briers and he broke 
the tense spell: 
“Gentlemen, I am sorry, but here is your 
woodcock.” And in his hand it lay as 
pathetic in death as only a woodcock of all 
living things can be when the last long 
silence comes. What pangs that strong 
little heart must have suffered as the hun¬ 
dreds of wing beats sent him strongly as 
of yore, but this time to the little bower 
beside alder brook! 
, : : 
