ould have been easy to kill three or four of the covey, which was a
small one, at a single shot; but it had been a late summer, and they
were not full-grown. Besides which, they roosted, I knew, about the
middle of the meadow, and to shoot them near the roost would be certain
to break them up, and perhaps drive them into Southlands. 'Good poachers
preserve their own game:' so the birds fed safely, though a pot shot
would not have seemed, the crime then that it would now. While I watched
them suddenly the old bird 'quat,' and ran swiftly into the hedge,
followed by the rest. A kestrel was hovering in the next meadow: when
the beat of his wings ceased he slid forward and downwards, then rose
and came over me in a bold curve. Well those little brown birds in the
blackthorn knew that, fierce as he was, he dared not swoop even on a
comparatively open bush, much less such thick covert, for fear of
ruffling his proud feathers and beating them out. Nor could he follow
them through the intricate hidden passages.

In the open water of the pond a large jack was basking in the sunshine,
just beneath the surface; and though the shot would scatter somewhat
before reaching him, he was within range. If a fish lies a few inches
under water he is quite safe from shot unless the muzzle of the gun is
so close that the pellets travel together like a bullet. At a distance
the shot is supposed to glance as it strikes the water at an angle; for
that reason the elevation of the tree was an advantage, since from it
the charge would plunge into the pool. A jack may be killed in some
depth of water when the gun is nearly perpendicularly above the mark;
but in any case the aim must be taken two inches or more, according to
circumstances, beneath the apparent position of the fish, to allow for
refraction.

Sometimes the jack when hit comes to the surface belly upwards, but
sometimes keeps down or sinks, and floats a considerable distance away
from the spot; so that in the muddy water disturbed by the shot it is
difficult to find him. If a snake be shot at while swimming he will
sometimes sink like a stone, and can be seen lying motionless at the
bottom. After we got hold of a small deer rifle we used to practise at
the snakes in the mere--aiming at the head, which is about the size of a
nut, and shows above the surface wobbling as they move. I recollect
cutting a snake's head clean off with a ball from a pistol as he
hastened away through the grass