aken out of
its case, put together, and standing side by side with others in a glass
cupboard. He took it down and left the house with his companion. On
the terrace they found a keeper with the dogs, and started off for the
marshy ground by the river.

"Put a few cartridges loose in your pocket," said Gould. "William will
carry the rest."

The low-lying lands were intersected by deep trenches, which divided
them into fields just as hedges would. These were now frozen over, but
the ice was melting fast, and water stood on the top. Along them walked
the two gunners, William the keeper following with Scamp, the retriever,
in a leash; for Scamp would hunt about and put everything up far out of
range.

"Look out, Crawley!" cried Gould, as a snipe flushed in front of him.

He would not have known it was a snipe unless Gould had told him, as it
was the first he had ever seen alive. He tried to take aim at it,
shutting the left eye as if he were shooting at a target with a rifle,
which caused him to twiddle his gun about as if he were letting off a
squib, for the bird darted about as though on purpose to dodge him. So
he pulled one trigger, and then, quite by accident, for he did not know
how to find it in his flurry, the other, and I don't suppose went within
two yards of the snipe with either barrel. With a steadier flight,
having now got well on the wing, it sailed within reach of Gould, who
knocked it over.

"Wiped your eye, old fellow!" he cried triumphantly as Scamp came back
with the bird in his mouth.

"Yes; I told you I was a duffer," replied Crawley, who took note that
the best way was to wait for the bird to have done his zigzagging. So
he steadied himself, and the next chance he had he did wait. But not a
bit could he cover the bird with that little knob of a sight, and when
the smoke cleared away he saw it careering like a kite with too light a
tail in the distance. Gould also missed twice, and then shot one the
moment it was off the ground, before the erratic course commenced.

"That looks the easiest dodge," thought Crawley, and the next shot he
had he tried it with the first barrel, missed, waited till the snipe was
flying more steadily and gave it the second barrel, missed again. He
got quite hot, and felt sure the keeper was laughing at him, but that
official only said:

"I'd put in a cartridge with bigger shot now; there's some duck, I
think, in yon bit of rushes by the river."

They d