The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-10

were not yet aware OF their presence but II was
also a certainty that the bevy would Hush IN the
grass" MAS OF exceptional thickness Suddenly
ahead oi them faint checpng was heard and
the hunters Immediately s'3pped AND SfSf 'ne iab
the rush and roar OF wings ana NE aStreh'Ehuges
began popping The beyy had flushed at twenty
yards away and the fact that only four OF them
Tell TO the eight barrels was a matter oil keenest
disappointment The discrepancy was explained
Hardy the man whose check had caIessed tho
mescal key had not fred shot Tor the all suulcient
reason tina, he had forgotten to load his gun
Jones looked at him for thirty seconds, started
himself by mighty effort and turned 10 examine
rctrevcrs all Of them, had brought in az tendcriy
as IL they had been handling lady's glove
Jones is q redhonded man There Were mlafsn
for the black breasted quail which does not often
bring To a maturity more than six Of one family,
The fact that they had been hunted but little
during this season was proved by the further
fact that they Travelled straight along the ridge
bnd pitched not more than quarter Of mile away,
as brown Qunils The dead birds were placed
carefully in Me p0sks Of s Sma sG"'
sire 10 TulIir a feather i he can help H. Mean;
when told 20, while the haIdheadcd Meteors had
attempted TO run away and were being chas'ised
vigorously
Jones who had elected himself captain Of the
honrse whisper and STUMP said that no
ought no. 70 speak a. all as ,hs birds were only
and faint The men walked rapidly, because
they did not expect To find the birds again inside
and sort Of sprnting match followed, with the
long legged Hardy In the lead They went so
fast in TG ddgE SH%nd s0I1aS yc dn n'iR hS
upEradcs maintaining strong pace; that they
had covered thrcequarters Of a, mile before they
another sudden roar Of wings this time forty
yards in front Of Hardy, who MAS twenty yards
In front Of Jones, who was ahead Of the other
measure OF luck stump" dropped bird with
each barrel tho two Of them falling not thirty feet
had promptly hred both barrels into tho cir and
man with bushy head and a, nose like hawks
Iie said nothing, hut slipped two fresh shells
into his gun and pokcd il suggcstiyely forward
! was the finest double he could recall In an ex
percnce extending over thirty years, Gavin and
work or other folks might DO induced to
take hand The nine ls,9 birds Ia, had
and, with a beautiful velocity and wide swing,
had swept across shallow valley mile
and Hardy lard Were Tor following them. Gavin and
| Wilder both short and fat men, said that II would
be Of no use and the cxtriminsiion OF single
'oywSs I he a d"Sas vas prScSs "E The Jour dogs
| which had moved for fifty yards or 50 and were
separated by intervals OF twenty yards, stimuli,
! painting in one direction. The two MoteoTs,
which had been ia "dCa1ESe bad thrown back
daL sgsaS were cro"ched their heads pon,pS
straight forward. The ,quartetto Of animals in
| this way stood practically at tho four points OF
the compass, their noses conyerging 10 common
centre. The men stared In wonder There
| is something up TO a certainty" said Jonea The
men, with gums held in readiness, walked forward
until they entered the circle described by the doga
| From the very, centre Of that imagincry. circle
bounded a single Masscnn cock. the sun shining
| fun upon his rhOn brcoEpate az no rose He
| was SO close that the white markings above his
| eye were as plain TO- view as II he had been held
| in hand He lcaped twenty feet in air, whiTled
| as II hung upon y wire and darted straight hack
ward over the heads Of the men, SO near was
could have touched tho brilliant flyer with tho
| muzzle Of his gun, Anyhow, eight reports rang
out inside Of two seconds, but not feather oated