"Not a thing. I heard the gunshot, and noted where it came from, but so far as I could ascertain, the only creatures it disturbed were some rabbits, rooks and pheasants."
"Ah! Where did the pheasants show up?"
"Out of the wood, close to the spot where the rifle was fired."
"How many?"
"How many what?"
"Pheasants."
"A brace. They flew right across the south front of the house to a covert on the west side. Is that an important detail?"
"When you hear the evidence you may find it so," commented Furneaux. "Why do you say 'rifle'? Why not plain 'gun'?"
"Because any one who has handled both a rifle and a shotgun can recognize the difference in sound. The explosive force of the one is many times greater than that of the other."