A covey lifted at Cyrus’s feet and flew out bunched and low. Cyrus fired quickly and Ben and Sam on the wagon saw a bird fall. At the moment of the blast all heard a yelp. The pointing dog’s bracemate had been backing from heavy cover thirty-five yards ahead in the line of Cyrus’s hasty shot. Cyrus had broken another of Sonny Eanes’ recited rules of the hunt: “Know where every one and every animal is before you shoot.”
Mose sent the Cocker seated beside him to retrieve Cyrus’s bird and Sonny said, “Mr. Kane, open your gun’s breach and remove the live round please.” Just then a sleeper rose and Cyrus instinctively swung on it and fired. Sonny felt the heat from the muzzle blast pass close by his head. The dead bird’s falling place showed Cyrus had shot just two feet wide of Sonny’s head.
In two minutes the Cocker had the two quail in Mose’s hand on the wagon. Sonny inspected the shot dog on whose side red whelps revealed where number eight shot had entered. He returned the dog to the wagon and released another to take its place. Sonny was boiling.
“We don’t shoot sleepers after a covey rise, “Sonny said. Cyrus did not acknowledge the rebuke.
“May I speak to you a moment, Mr. Bates,” Sonny said. They walked away from the wagon out of its occupants’ earshot and faced so their lips could not be read.
“Let’s have Mr. Kane shoot alone,” Sonny said. Tom Bates nodded assent.
Back on the wagon, Tom Bates said, “Boys, I have a little problem with my arthritis this morning. I am going to ride and watch. Cyrus you will shoot alone, Ben and Sam you will pair.” Cyrus could not hide his pleasure with the new arrangement.
For the rest of the morning, Sonny Eanes was always in touching distance of Cyrus when he was down to shoot. Sonny issued orders crisply, and Cyrus obeyed. By noon Cyrus had shot most of a day’s wagon limit. Ben and Sam had averaged a bird a rise between them.
Back at the manor house, Ben and Sam took their leave after a delicious lunch of shrimp salad and Tom and Cyrus repaired to the gun room where they negotiated a sale of Tom’s company to Cyrus’s. A month later after the deal’s closing Tom told Sonny. “You made it possible Sonny. You got Cyrus Kane in the mood to make a deal by letting him shoot alone.” Then he handed Sonny a check for $25,000.
“Thank you, Mr. Tom. But please tell me you won’t ever have Mr. Kane here again as a shooting guest.”
Tom Bates nodded agreement. “Not a chance of that. He tried to buy Bent Pine too. I said ‘Not for sale.’”