‘Then why the mischief should you growl at me?’

’Because I think a man should do what he undertakes to do.  A man who gets tired after three days’ work of this kind would become tired if he were earning his bread.’

‘Who says I am tired?  I came here to amuse myself.’

‘Amuse yourself!’

’And as long as it amuses me, I shall shoot, and when it does not I shall give it up.’

This vexed the governor of Crummie-Toddie much.  He had learned to regard himself as the arbiter of the fate of men while they were sojourning under the same autumnal roof as himself.  But a defalcation which occurred immediately afterwards was worse.  Silverbridge declared his intention of going over one morning to Killancodlem.  Reginald Dobbes muttered a curse between his teeth, which was visible by the anger of his brow, to all the party.  ’I shall be back tonight, you know,’ said Silverbridge.

‘A lot of men and women who pretend to come here for shooting,’ said Dobbes angrily, ‘but do all the mischief they can.’

‘One must go and see one’s friends you know.’

‘Some girl!’ said Dobbes.

But worse happened than the evil so lightly mentioned.  Silverbridge did go over to Killancodlem; and presently there came back a man with a cart, who was to return with a certain not small proportion of his luggage.

‘It’s hardly honest, you know,’ said Reginald Dobbes.

CHAPTER 39

Killancodlem

Mr Dobbes was probably right in his opinion that hotels, tourists, and congregations of men are detrimental to shooting.  Crummie-Toddie was in all respects suited for sport.  Killancodlem, though it had the name of a shooting-place, certainly was not so.  Men going there took their guns.  Gamekeepers were provided with gillies,—­and, in a moderate quantity, game.  On certain grand days a deer or two might be shot,—­and would be very much talked about afterwards.  But a glance at the place would suffice to show that Killancodlem was not intended for sport.  It was a fine castellated mansion, with beautiful though narrow grounds, standing in the valley of the Archay River, with a mountain behind and the river in front.  Between the gates and the river there was a public road on which a stage-coach ran, with loud-blown horns and the noise of many tourists.  A mile beyond the Castle was the famous Killancodlem hotel which made up a hundred and twenty beds, and at which half as many more guests would sleep on occasions under the tables.  And there was the Killancodlem post-office halfway between the two.  At Crummie-Toddie they had to send nine miles for their letters and newspapers.  At Killancodlem there was lawn-tennis and a billiard-room and dancing every night.  The costumes of the ladies were lovely, and those of the gentlemen, who were wonderful in knickerbockers, picturesque hats and variegated stockings, hardly less so. and then there were carriages and saddle-horses, and paths had been made hither and thither through the rocks and hills for the sake of the scenery.  Scenery!  To hear Mr Dobbes utter the single word was as good as a play.  Was it for such cockney purposes as those that Scotland had been created, fit mother for grouse and deer?