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Crown and Sceptre, by George Manville Fenn
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Crown and Sceptre, by George Manville Fenn This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Crown and Sceptre A West Country Story
Author: George Manville Fenn
Illustrator: J. Nash
Release Date: November 6, 2007 [EBook #23382]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CROWN AND SCEPTRE ***
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
Crown and Sceptre, a West Country Story, by George Manville Fenn.
CHAPTER ONE.
IN THE WEST COUNTREE.
"Derry down, derry down, derry down!"
A cheery voice rolling out the chorus of an old west-country ditty.
Then there was a run of a few yards, a sudden stoppage, and a round, red missile was thrown with considerable force after a blackcock, which rose on whirring wings from among the heather, his violet-black plumage glistening in the autumn sun, as he skimmed over the moor, and disappeared down the side of a hollow coombe.
"Missed him," said the thrower, thrusting his hand into his pocket, and bringing out a similar object to that which he had used as a missile, but putting it to a far different purpose; for he raised it to his mouth, drew back his red lips, and with one sharp crunch drove two rows of white teeth through the ruddy skin, cut out a great circular piece of a