d with a
"stern chaser"--a feat which I regretted to observe no one else noticed,
for there was a perfect fusilade all along the line at the moment.
Master Gerald, who had discharged his first barrel straight into the
"brown," succeeded, in obedience to his mentor's admonitions, in
covering an old cock-grouse with his second, and carefully following
that flustered fowl's course with the point of his gun, pulled the
trigger just as it skimmed, low down, with an agitated squawk, between
his butt and mine. I heard the shot rattle through the heather, and two
pellets hit on my left boot.

The congenial task of telling Gerald, in a low but penetrating voice,
exactly what I thought of him, occupied my attention so fully for the
next minute that I failed to observe a blackcock which suddenly swung up
into view and whizzed straight past my head, to the audible annoyance of
the distant Admiral and the undisguised joy of my unrepentant relative.

No more birds came after that, and presently, the line of beaters having
advanced within range, we put down our guns and collected the slain. We
had not done badly, considering the fact that the main body of the birds
had swerved away to our left over the unoccupied butt, despite the
valiant efforts of an urchin with a red flag to turn them. Dermott
headed the list with four and a half brace, and Gerald brought up the
rear with a mangled corpse which had received the contents of his first
barrel point-blank at a distance of about six feet. The laird of
Nethercraigs (a cautious and economical sportsman, who was reputed never
to loose off his gun at anything which did not come and perch on his
butt) had fired just three cartridges and killed just three birds, but
his son had seven. The Admiral and Standish had also had average luck,
and altogether we had fourteen and a half brace to show for our
exertions.

Off went the beaters again, and we changed butts and waited. The second
drive gave us fewer birds but better sport. There were no great packs,
but we got plenty to do in the way of sharp-shooting, and Gerald's
keeper--a singularly ambiguous title in this case--succeeded by
increased vigilance in preserving me from being further sniped by my
enterprising brother-in-law.

We totalled up twelve brace this time, and then made ready for a tramp
to the next line of butts, away round the shoulder of a fairly distant
hill.

"We may as well spread out and walk 'em up this bit," said our ho