Which laudable effort toward intellectual and artistic uplift Hamil never laughed at; and there ensued always the most astonishing _causerie_ concerning art that two men in a wilderness ever engaged in.
Young Hastings, a Yale academic and forestry graduate, did fairly well in Malcourt's place, and was doing better every day.

For one thing he knew much more about practical forestry and the fish and game problems than did Malcourt, who was a better organiser than executive.
He began by dumping out into a worthless and landlocked bass-pond every brown trout in the hatchery.

He then drew off the water in the brown-trout ponds, sent in men with seines and shotguns, and finally, with dynamite, purged the free waters of the brown danger for good and all.
"When Malcourt comes back," observed Portlaw, "you'll have to answer for all this." "I won't be questioned," said Hastings, smiling.
"Oh! And what do you propose to do next ?" "If I had the money you think of spending on ruined castles "-- very respectfully--"I'd build a wall in place of that mesh-wire fence." "Why ?" asked Portlaw.
"The wire deceives the grouse when they come driving headlong through the woods.

My men pick up dozens of dead grouse and woodcock along the fence.

If it were a wall they'd go over it.