Taking his gun a few inches above the trigger guard (and with the guard towards his side), holding it lightly just where it seemed to balance in a perpendicular position, I gave it a slow heave rather than a throw, and it rose into the air.  This peculiar feeling hoist, as it were, caused it to retain the perpendicular position as it passed over brook and hedge in a low curve.  As it descended it did indeed slope a little, and Orion caught it with one hand easily.  The hedge being low he could see it coming; but guns are sometimes heaved in this way over hedges that have not been cropped for years.  Then the gun suddenly appears in the air, perhaps fifteen feet high, while the catch depends not only upon the dexterity of the hand but the ear—­to judge correctly where the person who throws it is standing, as he is invisible.

The spaniels plunged in the brook among the flags, but though they made a great splashing nothing came of it till we approached a marshy place where was a pond.  A moorhen then rose and scuttled down the brook, her legs dragging along the surface some distance before she could get up, and the sunshine sparkling on the water that dropped from her.  I fired and knocked her over:  at the sound of the discharge a bird rose from the low mound by the pond some forty yards ahead.  My second barrel was empty in an instant.

Both Orion’s followed; but the distance, the intervening pollard willows, or our excitement spoilt the aim.  The woodcock flew off untouched, and made straight away from the territories we could beat into those that were jealously guarded by a certain keeper with whom Farmer ‘Willum’ had waged war for years.  ‘Come on!’ shouted Orion as soon as he had marked the cock down in a mound two fields away.  Throwing him my gun, I leaped the brook; and we at first raced, but on second thoughts walked slowly, for the mound.  Running disturbs accuracy of fire, and a woodcock was much too rare a visitor for the slightest chance to be lost.

As we approached we considered that very probably the cock would either lie close till we had walked past, and get up behind, or he would rise out of gunshot.  What we were afraid of was his making for the preserves, which were not far off.  So we tossed for the best position, and I lost.  I had therefore to get over on the side of the hedge towards the preserves and to walk down somewhat faster than Orion, who was to keep (on his side) about thirty yards behind.  The object was to flush the cock on his side, so that if missed the bird might return towards our territories.  In a double-mound like this it is impossible to tell what a woodcock will do, but this was the best thing we could think of.

About half-way down the hedge I heard Orion fire both barrels in quick succession—­the mound was so thick I could not see through.  The next instant the cock came over the top of the hedge just above my head.  Startled at seeing me so close, he flew straight down along the summit of the bushes—­a splendid chance to look at from a distance; but in throwing up the gun a projecting briar caught the barrels, and before I could recover it the bird came down at the side of the hedge.