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About five o'clock, as you sit over your book in the library, you hear a rapid firing off of guns, which apprises you that the men have returned from shooting. They linger a while in the gun-room talking over their sport and seeing the record of the killed entered in the game-book.
As soon as dinner was over and Sir Hugh and his satellite had left the dining-room to enter up the game-book, write labels for special friends, and generally finish up the business of the day Lady Adela proposed a game of Dumb Crambo; and in this she was heartily backed up by the Lestranges, for Miss Georgie seemed to think that the mantle of Kitty Clive had descended upon her shoulders, while her brother evidently regarded himself as a facetious person.
The year 1896 was no doubt rather a failure as regards the may-fly; but as I glance over the pages of the game-book in which I record as far as possible every fish that is killed, I cannot help thinking that sport has been very wonderful, take it all round, during six out of seven seasons. It is a lovely day during the last week in May.
In the afternoon both officers and men are, as a rule, free to amuse themselves with such sport and games as may seem good to them. Round and about Mardan there is fairly good small-game shooting, the game-book in a good year showing over three thousand head shot by the officers. Amongst these are wild duck of many varieties, wild geese, snipe, partridges, hare, and quail.
The following extract of deaths, taken from my game-book during three months of the year, will give a tolerably accurate idea of the number killed: 1852. March 24. Doe. . Killed in the Elk Plains. 30. Two Does. Killed in Newera Ellia Plain. April 3. Doe. . Killed at the foot of Hack Galla. 5. Buck. . Killed at the foot of Pedro. 8. Doe. . Killed at the top of the Pass. 13.
Considering the few days given to sporting, our game-book contains a very tolerable list, comprising seven kangaroos, twenty quails, ten ducks, seven pigeons, two pheasants, and two ibises.
I don't care for this new-fangled taste for weak tea dish-water, I call it only fit for the jaded digestions of worn-out worldly women." "Who owns this fog-horn?" my kinsman whispered. "Will it come out shooting to-morrow? The game-book record will be considerably lower if so!" "It won't shoot; it will only lunch," I whispered back. Somehow, my spirits had risen.
On the faith of indistinguishable remains, we must no doubt enter a number of other Flies in her game-book. "Bramble-bees and Others": chapters 1 and 3. The species which recurs most frequently in my notes is Syritta pipiens. Without pursuing this tedious list any farther, we plainly perceive the general result.
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