THE WIGEON AND POCHARDS 269 



the day, but the lead had not been fired at for good 

 reasons. Guns were cleaned and punts made ready. 

 Those who fowled on shore, or rather in the mud, 

 borrowed their wives' hand-bowls to bail out their 

 tubs, which were brimful of the mud in which they 

 were sunk, and then they put straw in them to make 

 them snug. Those who shot on shore went to their 

 places and made them comfortable also with straw, 

 things generally being in a decidedly moist condition. 



When the flats became fairly dry, and the fowl, 

 nearly all being Wigeon, rushed in from open water, 

 the place was absolutely alive with fowl. " Whe-oh- 

 whe-oh, we-we-oh," and " quack-queck, quack-quark- 

 quack," and then " Honk-honk, honk." The waders 

 twittered and whistled, the Curlews were first on 

 the list for noise, and the "cussed yelpers " were 

 second best. 



All were busy feeding, but as far as the waders 

 were concerned all were unheeded, Wigeon being 

 destined to be the order of the night. Still they 

 come, and now the tide is flowing. A line of 

 punts comes down the cut, the punters having 

 settled before starting, if possible all to fire together, 

 and to share the fowl. The men take their places 

 and drift up with the flowing tide. The flats may 

 look level, but they are not really so. As the 

 water floats them off their feet, getting finally too 

 deep for them to feed, all the fowl make for a 

 sloping length of ooze covered with grass, not yet 

 reached by the water, and here they gorge them- 

 selves voraciously. 



