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retrieved, and Tertius was already fumbling in his pocket for the wherewithal to reward the Deus ex machind, when

"There!" exclaimed the man, laying out the last bird, "and now I'll trouble you for your names and addresses, or you shall come along with me. Who are you, I'd like to know, to come and shoot my partridges?"

"Your partridges?" Tableau! The rest of the interview may be left to the imagination. The finale was that the keeper took their cards and seemed so far to accept their explanation and apologies as to promise to pass them on with the cards to his master's agent. An offer of the dead birds he most steadily and to my thinking most unaccountably declined, declaring that they were valueless to him when dead, though alive they had been worth their weight in gold. Whether it was that he subsequently repented of the refusal, or that brooding over what was undoubtedly a very serious loss brought him to a wholly uncharitable frame of mind, I cannot pretend to decide. But according to the agent, who on the strength of his representations instantly applied for summonses against the offenders, he depicted Tertius and the inquisitive one. as ill-conditioned and insolent poachers who had carried off the dead game vi et armis. The agent, however, when interviewed, proved more amenable to reason, and finding that he had to do with two courteous gentlemen who had erred in all innocence, con

sented to withdraw the summonses on the understanding that a modest contribution was given to the local poor-box. Curiously enough, on the one hand, the stipulated sum was considerably less than the market value of the dead partridges. On the other hand, in our annoyance over the incident, we temporarily lost sight of the fact that the fifteen birds, which our landlord annexed as a matter of course, most certainly did not belong to him, but ought to have gone to the agent.

I will add that up to a certain point one and all of our party were certainly in sympathy with the gamekeeper's feelings. True, he put himself out of court by wantonly perverting the true facts of the case; but a good deal of allowance must be made for a man who by dint of good watching had kept a covey of partridges intact up to the middle of January, when their harbourage lay in such close proximity to a kill-everything-you-see sort of shooting. It must have been gall and wormwood to the man's feelings to see his treasured breeding-stock practically wiped out. Nor again had we any reason for doubting the agent's version of the state of affairs, when he told us that our landlord had earned an evil reputation as a notorious grabber of odd lots of shooting which either intersected marched side by side with various proprietors' preserves. Though it was impolitic to say so at the time, I thought then and still think that even in our

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at the far end of the hedgerow. There we were presently joined by the trio, who were all now walking on our side of the hedge, Tertius loudly expostulating with William, that individual looking more like a martyr than usual, and the inquisitive one apparently lacking some of his characteristic urbanity.

"You seem to have had pretty good sport," I remarked. "Yes, good sport, thank you, and a good row too," snapped Tertius. "That double-distilled idiot”—indicating William "let us go poaching beyond our boundary, and we've mopped up pretty well a whole covey of somebody's tame birds, and got caught in the act by the gamekeeper!"

It may be remembered that Mr Pickwick, most charitable of mankind, on one occasion eyed a horse "with looks expressive of hatred and revenge, and more than once calculated the probable amount of the expense he would incur by cutting its throat." So, too, the normally placid Tertius was now eyeing the guilty William with any feeling rather than that of affection in his mind, when the lastnamed individual, pointing with his finger, slowly ejaculated "Doock!" and surely enough there were three of those birds high in the air, well within half a mile of us.

“D——n the duck!" rasped out the inquisitive one in a tone which showed that the iron had entered into his soul also. Fortunately or unfortunately, this anticlimax followed William's climax with

such startling rapidity that our air - and - exercise member went off into a wild shout of laughter, which proving to be contagious sensibly relieved the situation. When the party

had returned to their sober senses Tertius proceeded to unfold his dolorous tale. It appeared that William, astute enough to keep his own precious carcase on the right side of the hedge, had either of inadvertence or design allowed our friends on the right to wander into a neighbouring squire's turnip-field, wherein was lying a covey of partridges which the keeper had carefully reared and preserved as breeding-stock for the future. As the poor tame things lay like so many stones, and got up either singly or in pairs, no less than fifteen out of eighteen had fallen to our guns, who innocently supposed that fickle fortune had been unusually kind to them. The slaughter over, there followed the small matter of retrieving the game; and as repeated shouts and entreaties had about as much effect upon William as the cuttings with knives and lancets upon Baal on Mount Carmel, the two sportsmen buckled to the task themselves. Gathering dead birds in rime-covered turnips even with a dog is a difficult task, without a dog wellnigh hopeless. With exceeding great joy, then, the searchers hailed the appearance on the scene of action of a man with a retriever, and in all confidence they invoked his assistance. With the help of these new allies the game was duly

retrieved, and Tertius was already fumbling in his pocket for the wherewithal to reward the Deus ex machind, when

"There!" exclaimed the man, laying out the last bird, "and now I'll trouble you for your names and addresses, or you shall come along with me. Who are you, I'd like to know, to come and shoot my partridges?'

"Your partridges?" Tableau! The rest of the interview may be left to the imagination. The finale was that the keeper took their cards and seemed so far to accept their explanation and apologies as to promise to pass them on with the cards to his master's agent. An offer of the dead birds he most steadily and to my thinking most unaccountably declined, declaring that they were valueless to him when dead, though alive they had been worth their weight in gold. Whether it was that he subsequently repented of the refusal, or that brooding over what was undoubtedly a very serious loss brought him to a wholly uncharitable frame of mind, I cannot pretend to decide. But according to the agent, who on the strength of his representations instantly applied for summonses against the offenders, he depicted Tertius and the inquisitive one as ill - conditioned and insolent poachers who had carried off the dead game vi et armis. The agent, however, when interviewed, proved more amenable to reason, and finding that he had to do with two courteous gentlemen who had erred in all innocence, con

sented to withdraw the summonses on the understanding that a modest contribution was given to the local poor-box. Curiously enough, on the one hand, the stipulated sum was considerably less than the market value of the dead partridges. On the other hand, in our annoyance over the incident, we temporarily lost sight of the fact that the fifteen birds, which our landlord annexed as a matter of course, most certainly did not belong to him, but ought to have gone to the agent.

I will add that up to a certain point one and all of our party were certainly in sympathy with the gamekeeper's feelings. True, he put himself out of court by wantonly perverting the true facts of the case; but a good deal of allowance must be made for a man who by dint of good watching had kept a covey of partridges intact up to the middle of January, when their harbourage lay in such close proximity to a kill-everything-you-see sort of shooting. It must have been gall and wormwood to the man's feelings to see his treasured breeding-stock practically wiped out. Nor again had we any reason for doubting the agent's version of the state of affairs, when he told us that our landlord had earned an evil reputation as a notorious grabber of odd lots of shooting which either intersected marched side by side with various proprietors' preserves. Though it was impolitic to say so at the time, I thought then and still think that even in our

or

at the far end of the hedgerow. There we were presently joined by the trio, who were all now walking on our side of the hedge, Tertius loudly expostulating with William, that individual looking more like a martyr than usual, and the inquisitive one apparently lacking some of his characteristic urbanity.

"You seem to have had pretty good sport," I remarked. "Yes, good sport, thank you, and a good row too," snapped Tertius. "That double-distilled idiot"-indicating William "let us go poaching beyond our boundary, and we've mopped up pretty well a whole covey of somebody's tame birds, and got caught in the act by the gamekeeper!"

such startling rapidity that our air - and - exercise member went off into a wild shout of laughter, which proving to be contagious sensibly relieved the situation. When the party had returned to their sober senses Tertius proceeded to unfold his dolorous tale. It appeared that William, astute enough to keep his own precious carcase on the right side of the hedge, had either of inadvertence or design allowed our friends on the right to wander into a neighbouring squire's turnip-field, wherein was lying a covey of partridges which the keeper had carefully reared and preserved as breeding-stock for the future. As the poor tame things lay like so many stones, and It may be remembered that got up either singly or in Mr Pickwick, most charitable pairs, no less than fifteen out of mankind, on one occasion of eighteen had fallen to our eyed a horse "with looks ex- guns, who innocently supposed pressive of hatred and revenge, that fickle fortune had been and more than once calculated unusually kind to them. The the probable amount of the slaughter over, there followed expense he would incur by the small matter of retrieving cutting its throat." So, too, the So, too, the game; and as repeated the normally placid Tertius shouts and entreaties had was now eyeing the guilty about as much effect upon William with any feeling William as the cuttings with rather than that of affection knives and lancets upon Baal in his mind, when the last- on Mount Carmel, the two named individual, pointing sportsmen buckled to the task with his finger, slowly ejac- themselves. Gathering dead ulated "Doock!" and surely birds in rime-covered turnips enough there were three of even with a dog is a difficult those birds high in the air, task, without a dog wellnigh well within half a mile of us. hopeless. With exceeding "Dn the duck!" rasped great joy, then, the searchers out the inquisitive one in a hailed the appearance on the tone which showed that the scene of action of a man with iron had entered into his soul a retriever, and in all confidence they invoked his assistance. With the help of these new allies the game was duly

also. Fortunately or unfortunately, this anticlimax followed William's climax with

retrieved, and Tertius was already fumbling in his pocket for the wherewithal to reward the Deus ex machina, when—

"There!" exclaimed the man, laying out the last bird, "and now I'll trouble you for your names and addresses, or you shall come along with me. Who are you, I'd like to know, to come and shoot my partridges?"

"Your partridges?" Tableau! The rest of the interview may be left to the imagination. The finale was that the keeper took their cards and seemed so far to accept their explanation and apologies as to promise to pass them on with the cards to his master's agent. An offer of the dead birds he most steadily and to my thinking most unaccountably declined, declaring that they were valueless to him when dead, though alive they had been worth their weight in gold. Whether it was that he subsequently repented of the refusal, or that brooding over what was undoubtedly a very serious loss brought him to a wholly uncharitable frame of mind, I cannot pretend to decide. But according to the agent, who on the strength of his representations instantly applied for summonses against the offenders, he depicted Tertius and the inquisitive one as ill-conditioned and insolent poachers who had carried off the dead game vi et armis. The agent, however, when interviewed, proved more amenable to reason, and finding that he had to do with two courteous gentlemen who had erred in all innocence, con

sented to withdraw the summonses on the understanding that a modest contribution was given to the local poor-box. Curiously enough, on the one hand, the stipulated sum was considerably less than the market - value of the dead partridges. On the other hand, in our annoyance over the incident, we temporarily lost sight of the fact that the fifteen birds, which our landlord annexed as a matter of course, most certainly did not belong to him, but ought to have gone to the agent.

I will add that up to a certain point one and all of our party were certainly in sympathy with the gamekeeper's feelings. True, he put himself out of court by wantonly perverting the true facts of the case; but a good deal of allowance must be made for a man who by dint of good watching had kept a covey of partridges intact up to the middle of January, when their harbourage lay in such close proximity to a kill-everything-you-see sort of shooting. It must have been gall and wormwood to the man's feelings to see his treasured breeding-stock practically wiped out. Nor again had we any reason for doubting the agent's version of the state of affairs, when he told us that our landlord had earned an evil reputation as a notorious grabber of odd lots of shooting which either intersected marched side by side with various proprietors' preserves. Though it was impolitic to say so at the time, I thought then and still think that even in our

or

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