noon before
He had hardly stepped among the briers when the pheasants began to rise at every step -LRB- the old man had not shown him that place the day before as he meant to keep it for shooting from behind the screen -RRB- . Olenin fired twelve times and killed five pheasants , but clambering after them through the briers he got so fatigued that he was drenched with perspiration . He called off his dog , uncocked his gun , put in a bullet above the small shot , and brushing away the mosquitoes with the wide sleeve of his Circassian coat he went slowly to the spot where they had been the day before . It was however impossible to keep back the dog , who found trails on the very path , and Olenin killed two more pheasants , so that after being detained by this it was getting towards noon before he began to find the place he was looking for . The day was perfectly clear , calm , and hot . The morning moisture had dried up even in the forest , and myriads of mosquitoes literally covered his face , his back , and his arms . His dog had turned from black to grey , its back being covered with mosquitoes , and so had Olenin 's coat through which the insects thrust their stings .