{"product_id":"2940012791214","title":"MAIWA'S REVENGE","description":"MAIWA'S REVENGE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI--GOBO STRIKES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne day--it was about a week after Allan Quatermain told me his story\u003cbr\u003eof the \"Three Lions,\" and of the moving death of Jim-Jim--he and I were\u003cbr\u003ewalking home together on the termination of a day's shooting. He owned\u003cbr\u003eabout two thousand acres of shooting round the place he had bought in\u003cbr\u003eYorkshire, over a hundred of which were wood. It was the second year of\u003cbr\u003ehis occupation of the estate, and already he had reared a very fair head\u003cbr\u003eof pheasants, for he was an all-round sportsman, and as fond of shooting\u003cbr\u003ewith a shot-gun as with an eight-bore rifle. We were three guns that\u003cbr\u003eday, Sir Henry Curtis, Old Quatermain, and myself; but Sir Henry was\u003cbr\u003eobliged to leave in the middle of the afternoon in order to meet\u003cbr\u003ehis agent, and inspect an outlying farm where a new shed was wanted.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, he was coming back to dinner, and going to bring Captain Good\u003cbr\u003ewith him, for Brayley Hall was not more than two miles from the Grange.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe had met with very fair sport, considering that we were only\u003cbr\u003egoing through outlying cover for cocks. I think that we had killed\u003cbr\u003etwenty-seven, a woodcock and a leash of partridges which we secured\u003cbr\u003eout of a driven covey. On our way home there lay a long narrow spinney,\u003cbr\u003ewhich was a very favourite \"lie\" for woodcocks, and generally held a\u003cbr\u003epheasant or two as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, what do you say?\" said old Quatermain, \"shall we beat through\u003cbr\u003ethis for a finish?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI assented, and he called to the keeper who was following with a little\u003cbr\u003eknot of beaters, and told him to beat the spinney.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Very well, sir,\" answered the man, \"but it's getting wonderful dark,\u003cbr\u003eand the wind's rising a gale. It will take you all your time to hit a\u003cbr\u003ewoodcock if the spinney holds one.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You show us the woodcocks, Jeffries,\" answered Quatermain quickly, for\u003cbr\u003ehe never liked being crossed in anything to do with sport, \"and we will\u003cbr\u003elook after shooting them.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe man turned and went rather sulkily. I heard him say to the\u003cbr\u003eunder-keeper, \"He's pretty good, the master is, I'm not saying he isn't,\u003cbr\u003ebut if he kills a woodcock in this light and wind, I'm a Dutchman.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI think that Quatermain heard him too, though he said nothing. The wind\u003cbr\u003ewas rising every minute, and by the time the beat begun it blew big\u003cbr\u003eguns. I stood at the right-hand corner of the spinney, which curved\u003cbr\u003eround somewhat, and Quatermain stood at the left, about forty paces from\u003cbr\u003eme. Presently an old cock pheasant came rocketing over me, looking as\u003cbr\u003ethough the feathers were being blown out of his tail. I missed him clean\u003cbr\u003ewith the first barrel, and was never more pleased with myself in my life\u003cbr\u003ethan when I doubled him up with the second, for the shot was not an\u003cbr\u003eeasy one. In the faint light I could see Quatermain nodding his head in\u003cbr\u003eapproval, when through the groaning of the trees I heard the shouts of\u003cbr\u003ethe beaters, \"Cock forward, cock to the right.\" Then came a whole volley\u003cbr\u003eof shouts, \"Woodcock to the right,\" \"Cock to the left,\" \"Cock over.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI looked up, and presently caught sight of one of the woodcocks coming\u003cbr\u003edown the wind upon me like a flash. In that dim light I could not follow\u003cbr\u003eall his movements as he zigzagged through the naked tree-tops; indeed I\u003cbr\u003ecould see him when his wings flitted up. Now he was passing me--_bang_,\u003cbr\u003eand a flick of the wing, I had missed him; _bang_ again. Surely he was\u003cbr\u003edown; no, there he went to my left.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cock to you,\" I shouted, stepping forward so as to get Quatermain\u003cbr\u003ebetween me and the faint angry light of the dying day, for I wanted to\u003cbr\u003esee if he would \"wipe my eye.\" I knew him to be a wonderful shot, but I\u003cbr\u003ethought that cock would puzzle him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI saw him raise his gun ever so little and bend forward, and at that\u003cbr\u003emoment out flashed two woodcocks into the open, the one I had missed to\u003cbr\u003ehis right, and the other to his left.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the same time a fresh shout arose of, \"Woodcock over,\" and looking\u003cbr\u003edown the spinney I saw a third bird high up in the air, being blown\u003cbr\u003ealong like a brown and whirling leaf straight over Quatermain's head.\u003cbr\u003eAnd then followed the prettiest little bit of shooting that I ever saw.\u003cbr\u003eThe bird to the right was flying low, not ten yards from the line of\u003cbr\u003ea hedgerow, and Quatermain took him first because he would become\u003cbr\u003einvisible the soonest of any. Indeed, nobody who had not his hawk's eyes\u003cbr\u003ecould have seen to shoot at all. But he saw the bird well enough to kill\u003cbr\u003eit dead as a stone. Then turning sharply, he pulled on the second bird\u003cbr\u003eat about forty-five yards, and over he went.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152626303216,"sku":"2940012791214","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012791214_p0.jpg?v=1763572394","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012791214","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}