10 ‘COME DUCK SHOOTING WITH ME” 
loved to smoke after, what was to me, a hard day’s work. 
I gave Kleinman a cigar and he lighted up and sat 
quietly smoking. At last he asked: 
““Did you have good luck to-day?”’ 
‘“Yes,’’ I said, ‘“‘with my Eastern ideas I think a 
dozen game birds of any kind a good bag and to-day I 
shot forty-two ducks.”’ 
‘‘A dozen birds a day is no shoot,’’ said Kleinman, 
thoughtfully, ‘““‘but a dozen ducks at one shot isn’t 
bad.”’ 
He smoked a while longer and then suddenly said: 
‘“How would you like to shoot with me to-morrow?” 
“‘T’d like nothing better,’’ I told him. 
‘All right,’ said Kleinman, ‘‘it’s a wack.” 
Everybody was surprised at breakfast next morning 
when in response to a question I said I was to shoot with 
Abe, as Kleinman rarely took anyone out. He was 
generally the first away in the morning and the last in 
at night, a silent man in a crowd, but I found him not 
only pleasant but talkative. 
As we walked down to the landing it looked like a 
storm; a few drops of rain were falling and a high wind 
was blowing the clouds in great driving masses. 
‘““You better go back and get your rubber coat,”’ said 
Kleinman. 
“‘T have it with me,’’ I said. 
‘‘All right, here’s the skiff; it’s a bit small. I had it 
built for one man and extra narrow to get through the 
reeds easily, but it will carry two at a pinch.”’ 
Kleinman rowed away, a quick active stroke for three 
miles without speaking, and then took his push pole and 
shoved the boat some little distance from the river 
through the marsh grass growing in the water until we 
came to a large pond hole. 
