hasten forward when he saw the covey rise--a large covey it was--while
Captain Waveney got a right and left, and Sir Hugh fired his remaining
barrel, for he had not had time to reload. At the same instant Lionel
found that one of the birds had doubled back and was coming right over
his head; up went his gun; he blazed away; and down rolled the grouse
some dozen yards behind him.

"Well done!" Sir Hugh called out, "A capital shot!"

"A ghastly fluke, Sir Hugh!" Lionel called out, in return. "I simply
fired in the air."

"And a very good way of firing, too!" was the naive rejoinder.

But his next achievement was hardly so creditable. They were skirting
the edge of a birch-wood that clothed the side of a steep precipice
overlooking the Aivron, where there were some patches of bracken among
the heather, when the setter in front of him--a young dog--began to draw
rather falteringly on to something.

"Ware rabbit, Hector!" the keeper said, in an undertone.

But meanwhile the older dog, that was backing in front of Captain
Waveney, whether it was impatient of this uncertainty on the part of its
younger companion, or whether it was jealous, managed, unobserved, to
steal forward a foot or two, until suddenly it stopped rigid.

"Good dog, Iris, good dog!" Captain Waveney said (for he had overlooked
that little bit of stealthy advance), and he shifted his gun from his
right hand to his left, and stooped down and patted the animal's
neck--though all the time he was looking well ahead.

Then all at once there was a terrific whir of wings; Waveney quickly put
his gun to his shoulder--paused--took it down again; at the same
moment Lionel, finding a bird within his proper field, as he
considered--though it was going away at a prodigious speed--took steady
aim and fired. That distant object dropped--there was not a flutter. Of
course the keeper and Sir Hugh were still watching the young dog; but
when this doubtful scent came to nothing, Sir Hugh turned to Lionel.

"That was a long shot of yours, Mr. Moore," said he. "And very
excusable."

"Excusable?" said Lionel, wondering what he had done this time.

"Of course you knew that was a blackcock?" the other said.

"A blackcock?" he repeated.

"Didn't you hear Roderick call out? Didn't you see Waveney put up his
gun and then take it down?"

"Neither the one nor the other; I only saw a bird before me--and fired."

"Oh, well, there's no great harm done; if a man has no worse