"Seems most a pity to waste good liquor on such a wicious little beggar, don't it, sir?"

"By no means," said Oliver, smiling. "There, I hope I shall have the pleasure of showing it to one of our best zoologists. Now, Smith, let's have a look at yours."

"Well, yes, sir," said the man addressed, as he still kept his hand behind him. "You may as well see it now. Me and Billy here seed my gentleman three or four mornin's ago."

"Four, Tommy. Allus make yer knots tight."

"Weer it four, Billy? All right, then, four mornin's ago, just as it was gettin' light, an' I says to him, I says, 'Now that's just the sort o' bird as Muster Oliver Lane would like to have to stuff,' didn't I, Billy?"

"Well, it warn't quite in them there words, Tommy, but it meant that 'ere."

"Don't you be so nation perticler about a heff or a gee, messmate. If it meant what I says, wheer's the harm?"

"Allus speak the truth, Tommy. Allus speak the truth," growled Wriggs.

"Come, come, I want to see my bird," said Oliver. "Go on, Smith."

"That's just what I wants to do, sir, on'y Billy Wriggs here he is such a haggravatin' beggar. If yer don't speak your words to half a quarter of a hinch, he's down on yer."

Wriggs chuckled, and his messmate went on, but frowned and scowled at him all the time.

"Well, sir, I hups with my gun to shoot him, for Mr Rimmer says we're never to go about anywhere now without loaded guns 'cause of the hinjuns--but bless your 'art, afore you could say 'Fire' he was off over the trees, and I was that aggrawated as never was, for he was a fine 'un."

"There, what did I say, Tommy?" growled Wriggs. "Let him have it all."

"Look-ye here, messmate, are you a-goin' to tell the story, or am I?"

"Well, you'd better go on, Tommy, as you began it, on'y you gets driftin' to the lee so, instead o' sailin' ahead."

"Look here, you'd better do it yoursen," cried Smith.

"No, no, go on, man," said Oliver.

"All right, sir," grumbled Smith. "Well, Billy Wriggs says as he was sure he come there to feed of a morning, and pick up the wurms, and that if we got up early and waited there, we should see my gentleman again.

So we says nothin' to n.o.body, did we, Billy?"

"Not a word, messmate."

"And gets there very early nex' morning, but he'd got there afore us, and _Chuck_, he says, and away he went, 'fore I'd time to think o'

shootin' at him. But never mind, I says, I will be ready for yer to-morrer mornin', and we gets there much sooner, and waited in the dark. We hadn't been there more'n a minute before we know'd he'd been afore us, for we could hear him querking an' cherking to himself all in a low tone, just as if he was a-saying, 'There's a couple o' chaps hangin' about to get a look at my feathers, and I just aren't goin' to let 'em.'"

"Yes, it were just like that," said Wriggs, giving his head an approving nod.

"Ay, it weer, Billy, and my heye, sir, how we two did try to get a glimpse of him. But bless yer 'art, sir, it was that dark as never was.

He didn't mind, for we could hear him flickin' about in the trees, and flying down on the ground, and then makin' quite a flutter as he went up again, and talkin' to hissen all the time about us."

"You're a long time getting to the shooting, Smith," said Oliver.

"That's a true word, sir. We was, for it got light at last, and both me and Billy had our guns ready to pop off, but he warn't there then. Not a sign of him. Oh, he was a hartful one! He knowed what we was up to, and he goes and gets there in the middle o' the night, has what he wants, and then off he goes all quiet like before we could see."

"But you did shoot it at last?"

"Ay, sir, I did, but not that mornin', which was yesterday, you know.

For, Billy, I says, this here game won't do."

"Ay, you did, Tommy."

"You and me ain't goin' to be done by a big c.o.c.k-sparrer sort o' thing, is we? and he says we warn't, and we'll keep on earlier and earlier till we do get him."

"Well, and what did you do?" asked Oliver, smiling.

"Goes in the middle o' the night, sir, to be sure, and there we was as quiet as could be; but we didn't hear nothin' till just afore sunrise, when there was a _cherk, cherk_, and a bit of flutterin' just as we was makin' up our minds as he was too artful for us. Billy, he gives me a nudge and shoves up the gun and takes aim."

"But you couldn't see the bird?" said Oliver.

"No, sir, not yet, but I wanted to be ready so as to get a shot at him the moment he showed hissen, and then if I didn't recklect as I hadn't loaded the gun arter giving it a good clean up yes'day, 'cause it were getting rusty."

"That's so, and I did mine, too," said Wriggs.

"You might ha' knocked me down with a feather, sir," continued Smith.

"Nay, nay, speak the truth, Tommy," growled Wriggs, reprovingly. "No feather as ever growed wouldn't knock you down."

"Will you be quiet, Billy Wriggs? Who's to tell the gentleman if you keep a-sticking your marlin-spike in where it aren't wanted?"

"Come, come, I want to see my bird," cried Oliver, who was amused by the sailor's long-winded narrative. "If it takes so much time to shoot one bird, how long would it take to shoot a flock?"

"Ah! I dunno, sir," said Smith, solemnly.

"But you got this one?"

"Ay, sir, I did."

"We did, Tommy! speak the truth."

"Well, _we_ did, then. I shot him, sir, and Billy goes in among the bushes and picked him up."

"Gettin' scratched awfully," growled Wriggs.

"Then you did shoot it," said Oliver, "without powder or shot?"

"Nay, sir, I lowered the gun down, shoved in a fresh cartridge, and waited like a stone statty."

"Two stone stattys," said Wriggs, solemnly. "Speak the truth."

"Yes, sir, neither on us moved, and I don't think as we breathed for ever so long, till it humbugged that there bird so as he couldn't stand it no longer, and he bobs right up on to a high bough so as to peep over and see whether we was there."

"And were you?"