JOHN’S ISLAND 103 
‘‘Don’t smoke now,” said Jimmy. ‘‘Let’s pick up the 
ducks, first, and then start back. You'll have to smoke 
in the river going home, the mosquitoes were fierce last 
night.” 
We reached the shack all right and glad to get there. 
It was a warm evening, the mosquitoes were out in full 
force on the river, and each one had a sting sharper 
than the last one. I smoked hard and fast but as 
Jimmy said, the mosquitoes seemed to like my brand 
of tobacco. 
On the dock I said to Jimmy, ‘‘We’re square on our 
dollar bets, but I owe you a bottle of beer.”’ 
‘You mean,”’ said Jimmy, ‘“‘you owe me a dollar and 
a bottle of beer.”’ 
‘‘How do you make that out?” I asked. 
‘Well! you owe me the dollar for not killing ten ducks 
at John’s Island and you promised me the bottle of 
beer.”’ 
‘““Yes,’’ I said, ‘‘but how about the dollar you lost 
betting we would not get fifty birds to-day?”’ 
‘“You mean you offered to bet, but don’t you remem- 
ber I told you I’d have to think about it first and then 
I started off telling you about the circus? I lost a dol- 
lar there but your dollar squares that up. I had my 
eyeteeth cut all right last summer at that circus.” 
‘“The card chap and the stylish shell man might beat 
you at their game,”’ said I in a bland tone of voice, 
“but [Il bet you could beat them at your game.”’ 
‘‘And what game is my game?” asked Jimmy in- 
dignantly. 
‘Shooting ducks,”’ said I. 
Jimmy grinned. 
