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in a gawky, jerky, feathery, fitful sort of way across the fields
towards Urshot, and Hickleybrow Street saw them no more. Near Urshot
they really came upon commensurate food in a field of swedes; and pecked
for a space with gusto, until their fame overtook them.
The chief immediate reaction of this astonishing irruption of gigantic
poultry upon the human mind was to arouse an extraordinary passion to
whoop and run and throw things, and in quite a little time almost all
the available manhood of Hickleybrows and several ladies, were out with
a remarkable assortment of flappish and whangable articles in hand--to
commence the scooting of the giant hens. They drove them into Urshot,
where there was a Rural Fete, and Urshot took them as the crowning glory
of a happy day. They began to be shot at near Findon Beeches, but at
first only with a rook rifle. Of course birds of that size could absorb
an unlimited quantity of small shot without inconvenience. They
scattered somewhere near Sevenoaks, and near Tonbridge one of them fled
clucking for a time in excessive agitation, somewhat ahead of and
parallel with the afternoon boat express--to the great astonishment of
every one therein.
And about half-past five two of them were caught very cleverly by a
circus proprietor at Tunbridge Wells, who lured them into a cage,
rendered vacant through the death of a widowed dromedary, by scattering
cakes and bread....
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