id Scroope, "I never saw that done before," while Ragnall
stared and Charles whistled.

But now I will tell the truth and expose all my weakness. The second
bird was not the one I aimed at. I was behind it and caught that which
followed. And in my vanity I did not own up, at least not till that
evening.

The four dead partridges--there was not a runner among them--having been
collected amidst many congratulations, we went on and were punted across
the lake to the covert. As we entered the boat I observed that, in
addition to the great bags, Charles was carrying a box of cartridges
under his arm, and asked him where he got it from.

He replied, from Mr. Popham--that was the gunsmith's name--who had
brought it with him in case I should not have enough. I made no remark,
but as I knew I had quite half of my cartridges left out of the three
hundred and fifty that I had bought, I wondered to myself what kind of a
shoot this was going to be.

Well, we took up our stands, and while we were doing so, suddenly the
wind increased to a tearing gale, which seemed to me to blow from all
points of the compass in turn. Rooks flying homewards, and pigeons
disturbed by the beaters were swept over us like drifting leaves; wild
duck, of which I got one, went by like arrows; the great bare oaks
tossed their boughs and groaned; while not far off a fir tree was blown
down, falling with a splash into the water.

"It's a wild afternoon," said Lord Ragnall, and as he spoke Van Koop
came from his stand, looking rather scared, and suggested that the shoot
should be given up.

Lord Ragnall asked me what I wished to do. I replied that I would rather
go on, but that I was in his hands.

"I think we are fairly safe in these open places, Sir Junius," he said;
"and as the pheasants have been so much disturbed already, it does not
much matter if they are blown about a bit. But if you are of another
opinion, perhaps you had better get out of it and stand with the others
over the lake. I'll send for my guns and take your place."

On hearing this Van Koop changed his mind and said that he would go on.

So the beat began. At first the wind blew from behind us, and pheasants
in increasing numbers passed over our heads, most of them rather low,
to the guns on the farther side of the water, who, skilled though they
were, did not make very good work with them. We had been instructed not
to fire at birds going forward, so I let these be. Van Koop, howe