SANDPIPERS AND THE SANDERLING 51 



in the eagerness for one more shot you have stayed 

 a Httle too long down with your fowl, dash through 

 the mouth of the inlet, now knee-deep, wade up 

 the slub, and consider yourself lucky that you have 

 gained the sea-wall. 



Now the worthy host's last injunctions had no- 

 thing sinister in their meaning, but he was confident 

 that Splashey, who was a far better shoemaker than 

 fowler, would do something as usual to make the 

 frequenters of his house laugh again ; it was well 

 to keep things going cheerfully at his pub. As is 

 the rule, each of the fowlers had posted himself 

 along shore, well out of range one of the other. 

 Our friend Splashey had his post all right ; but no, 

 he must, as he termed it, " wipe t'others' eyes if 

 possible." Had he waited, the fowl, as the tide 

 made, would have flighted along shore ; but he 

 could not do that. For the clouds of Ox-birds 

 showed, now white now dark, as they turned just 

 beyond the spit. It was too much, Splashey walked 

 out on the hard slub, crossed the mouth of the cut, 

 gained the spit, and there he was in his glory. As 

 he afterwards remarked, in what was meant to be 

 the most private manner, "all he had got to do was 

 to load an' fire." But he had been too busy to notice 

 the tide, and the first intimation of discomfort he 

 had was his boots sogging in the shifting sands that 

 he was standing on. 



He rushed for the mouth of the cut. Too late ! 

 his retreat was cut off; there was ten feet of water 

 there if a bare inch, and Splashey could not swim. 



