126 “COME DUCK SHOOTING WITH ME” 
favorite. Many hundreds of used shells were scattered 
about in all stages of decay, and the remains of mud 
decoys of other days were still visible. Jimmy had 
brought a canvas-covered stool, which I found very 
comfortable after my experience the day before with the 
soft side of a shell box. Then Jimmy turned to and re- 
paired the blind, building it up good and high with tules. 
‘‘There,’’ said Jimmy at last, looking with satisfac- 
tion at the blind—a big haystack-looking creation,—‘‘I 
have made you a gun room and a smoking room, and 
there’s lots of space for you to sit up and smoke cigars, 
without the ducks seeing you.” 
Jimmy had been much disgusted the day before at 
my attempts at dropping my cigar and picking up the 
gun, on occasions when a teal coming in from nowhere 
in particular had caught me napping and in the general 
scramble that ensued had flown gleefully away un- 
harmed. 
Jimmy waded out in the mud and put out my decoys 
forme. Then picking up his gun, he said, ‘‘We’re going 
to have a freeze-up to-night. It’s pretty near the end of 
the season and I want to shoot to-day.” 
‘All right,’’ said I. ‘‘How many shells have you 
got?” 
Batty: 
‘‘Well, here’s twenty-five more,’’ I said as I handed 
them to him. ‘‘Hope you will have a nice shoot.” 
“Oh, I'll get a shoot to-day all right,’’ answered 
Jimmy. ‘‘We never fired at that big bunch of ducks 
that got up at the mouth of the canal and there were 
just thousands of ’em. There was something I wanted 
to ask you, but I guess it will wait. There’s a good 
blind on that point across this bay where I’m going to 
shoot to-day,’’ and off he went with the boat. 
