cart containing the necessary wire and boxes; and Ukridge, whose
enthusiasm brooked no delay, started immediately the task of
fashioning the coops, while I, assisted by Beale, draped the wire-
netting about the chosen spot next to the paddock. There were little
unpleasantnesses--once a roar of anguish told that Ukridge's hammer
had found the wrong billet, and on another occasion my flannel
trousers suffered on the wire--but the work proceeded steadily. By the
middle of the afternoon, things were in a sufficiently advanced state
to suggest to Ukridge the advisability of a halt for refreshments.

"That's the way to do it," he said, beaming through misty pince-nez
over a long glass. "That is the stuff to administer to 'em! At this
rate we shall have the place in corking condition before bedtime.
Quiet efficiency--that's the wheeze! What do you think of those for
coops, Beale?"

The Hired Man examined them woodenly.

"I've seen worse, sir."

He continued his examination.

"But not many," he added. Beale's passion for the truth had made him
unpopular in three regiments.

"They aren't so bad," I said, "but I'm glad I'm not a fowl."

"So you ought to be," said Ukridge, "considering the way you've put up
that wire. You'll have them strangling themselves."