`"Oh yes," said I, "no doubt you would be a capital sportsman if only your game would always give you time to make ready comfortably."
`"But I had no notion that anything was going to fly up just at our feet like that," cried he.
`"A good shot," I replied, "must be prepared for surprises: neither wild birds nor wild beasts will send you notice that they are about to fly or to run."
`"What sort of bird can it have been?' inquired Jack.
`"Oh, it certainly must have been an eagle," answered little Franz, "it was so very big!"
`"Just as if every big bird must be an eagle!" replied Ernest, in a tone of derision.
`"Let's see where he was sitting, at all events!" said I.
`Jack sprang towards the place, and instantly a second bird, rather larger than the first, rushed upward into the air, with a most startling noise.
`The boys stood staring upwards, perfectly stupefied, while I laughed heartily, saying, "Well, you are first-rate sportsmen, to be sure! You certainly will keep my larder famously well supplied!"
`At this, Ernest coloured up, and looked inclined to cry, while Jack put on a comical face, pulled off his cap, and with a low bow, called after the fugitive, "Adieu for the present, sir! I live in hopes of another meeting!"