DUCK-SHOOTING. 357 



man ; we drove down our charges as best we could, 

 somelirnes having one barrel loaded or half loaded, 

 sometimes the other, oftener neither, when we were 

 interrupted with such glorious chances; om* nerves, 

 eyes, and muscles were on tlie strain, and to this day 

 we have only to regret that we did not then pos- 

 sess a breech-loader. 



The air was alive with birds ; the rustle of their 

 wings made one continuous hum ; the heavy flocks 

 approached and passed us with a sound like the 

 gusty breeze of an autumn night rattling through 

 the dying leaves. When the sun fled and dai'kness 

 seemed to spring up around us, they appeared in 

 the most unexpected and bewildering manner ; at 

 one time from out of the glorious brilliancy of the 

 western sky, then from the deep gloom of the op- 

 posite quarter, darting across us or plunging down 

 into the weeds near by. 



Our birds lay where they fell, and when the ap- 

 proaching night bade us depart, we retrieved sixty- 

 seven — the result of about one hour's shooting — 

 doubtless losing numbers that were not noticed, or 

 which, being wounded, escaped. Had we not been 

 awkward from a year's idleness, or had we shot as 

 the professionals of Long Island and each used a 

 breech-loader, I could hardly say how many we 

 might not have killed. As it was, the sport was won- 

 derful, and the result sufticient to satisfy our am- 

 bition. 



We lost no time in escaping from the weeds into 

 the channel-ways, whither the open-water ducks — 



