MORNING MALLARD SHOOTING FALL. 131 



thereby Ccaiising a miss. Well, .good-night; I will 

 call you in time in the morning. 



Why, here it is after four o'clock. I came very 

 near oversleeping. I must call my young friend; 

 but here he is, coming to call me ! Good-morn- 

 ing. You are on hand, sure enough. Suppose you 

 feel like giving the ducks particular fits to-day. 

 W^ell, we'll see what we can do for them very 

 soon. The sky promises fair weather, and we 

 have a cool west wind to refresh us while row- 

 ing to the shooting-grounds, and which, if it con- 

 tinues, as I think it will, will make the ducks feel 

 more like moving about than they might be 

 inclined to do if it were warmer. Breakfast is 

 ready, I hear from the dining-room ; so let's go 

 in and see if we can do it justice. There's not 

 a big variety, to be sure, but it's good stuff to 

 last and to work on, this corn-bread and duck ; 

 and it isn't very apt to produce dyspepsia, especi- 

 ally if one does much rowing, and tramps far in 

 the muddy bottoms for exercise. It just suits 

 you, does it? Well, eat heartily, for you may 

 have work to do, and, as Joe Carroll used to say, 

 " A man that can't eat isn't fit to do much of 

 anything else." 



