Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-07-10
An Element of DisCOrd.

All EIGKEIGI1L Oh OISCOFQ.
It was in the smoking-room one
night at Sponsors that the qualities,
from a sportsmans point of view, of
Fred Maitland first came under discus
sion We had been having some good
covert shooting, and were we'll pleased
with ourselves and the world.
Of course, there was bound to be a
small element of discord, and in this
case it was supplied by the least pop
ular member of the party, a certain
Hickson-AIgernon Hickson.
He was really good shot, man
who could make himself more than
commonly agreeable, when he chose,
and he always did choose where a
pretty girl was concerned; but he was
not popular with the rest of us. His
temper was none of the best, nor best
controlled, and he was-which was
even worse-a jealous shot.
HicksOn was, or appeared to be,
much taken with Ethel Hillyard, one
of Mrs. Sponsors faVorite girls, and
charming person. She was now stay
ing in the house and am afraid it
was with ill-concealed delight that l
watched the attention which hIckson
was so assiduous in paying to her. I
liked Ethel, I could not stand HicksOn,
and know, though it was unknown to
the world at large, that Ethel was en-
gagged to Maitland, rising novelist
and journalist. Maitland was coming
next day.
'That writin' fellow" as Hiekson
cOntemptuously dubbed him in the
smoking room. Glow should he know
anything about a rocketting pheasant
or a partridge? 1t isn't even as if
he wrote for a decent sporting paper.
Doesn't he write love stories, and
silly little verses, and such stuff? ?"
ooh, yes" said Spenser, with
twinkle in his eye, "and what is more,
he sings them to music of his own
composing. Terrible depravity."
Tell you what I'll lay any one
hundred to five" said Hickson, "that
kill more birds at every drive, or
outside any covert, than he does the
day after tomorrow, irrespective of the
number of birds that come over us. If
any of you fellows like to back your
luck, now's your chance"
I had only heard that Maitland
could hold his own in most places, and
[ had never met him, but there had
been too much of Hickson that even
ing.
''I'll take you twice over, if you
like" I said careleSSly.
Done with you," said our friend,
and he evidently considered that he
had got a soft thing in bets.
To be candid, I wasn't so sure that
he had not myself when I woke UP
next morning. I thought I would go
to the fOuntain-head for a little surer
information, so I approached Miss
Hillyard gently on the subject of her
lovers prowess.
Glow odd that you should ask me
about him." she said. II overheard that
little wretch, Mr.. Hickson Che stood
about six feet in his socks) trying to
pump Mrs. Spenser about him once
already today. I have never seen
Fred shoot, but I don't mind betting
you two pairs of gloves that he shoots
better than you do tomorrow, any
way"
That evening Maitland arrived-a
nice-looking fellow, quite young, with
a good, clear complexion and whole
some, unaffected manners. We all took
to him instinctively, except Hickson
who was evidently determined to be
disagreeable.
I must say that he did not sound
much like a keen sportsman, and he
was much more anxious to stay where
he was than to offer up incense at
that shrine of the goddess of tobacco.
But, then, when a man is in love where
are you?
The next day turned out to be a
lovely, warm, October day, just cold
enough to make the exercise of shoot
ing a pleasure, and warm enough to
prevent a gun barrel from becoming a
kind of ice machine. I fancied that
he was a little nervous, and Ethel was
obviously so. I could we'll imagine
how annoyed they both would be if
HicksOn triumphed and we all knew
how good a shot he was. But he
vas not looking in the best of fettle,
and the announcement Of Etheps en-
gagement, which she had made at
breakfast, was not calculated to have
sOOthed his nerves.
Our first bit of shooting was to be
a small, narrow strip of young trees
about a quarter of mile from the