SOME HARMLESS HUNTING 149 



it, I felt that victory was mine, but — ^ten yards 

 in front of my face, and now with scarce a weed- 

 stalk intervening, were a pair of sleeping green- 

 heads, and one villain seemed to have his wise 

 little eye focused upon the point of my nose. 

 Every instant I felt that he must shout an 

 alarm; but not until I was half out from under 

 that diabolical willow did he recognize me. His 

 head shot up several inches, remained there a 

 fraction of a second, then with a warning quack 

 he was in the air, followed by a splash and a roar 

 as the whole concourse took wing. I had failed 

 that time by just a few inches. 



The birds circled inquisitively twice above 

 me, but as I did not move, they seemed to con- 

 clude that it was a false alarm and most of them 

 dropped down again in the next bend. Here I 

 tried once more, and stalked them by following 

 another trail that led within twenty yards of 

 the water. Then I sprinted for them. I think 

 they were on the wing with the first move I 

 made in my crashing progress, and I'm almost 

 ready to swear that I heard them laughing at 

 me, but the shutter caught up to some sixty of 

 them. Back on whiffling wings they came in a 

 few moments, and circled overhead, twisting 



