MONTAUK POINT. 183 
hills, and reloading our gun, we hasten to gather up 
the slain. 
Six with the right and three with the left barrel, 
are pretty well for a beginning ; but we had better 
have remained at our post, for while we are chasing 
up one of the wounded birds, two more flocks pass 
within easy range of our hiding-place. Hurriedly 
twisting the neck of the fugitive, we resume our 
lonely watch, and before the breakfast-hour of eight, 
which our unwontedly early exertions have made a 
somewhat serious epoch, we have had two more 
double shots, and increased our score to twenty-one. 
Beautiful, “beautiful execedingly” is the burden of 
game which we proudly carry back to our inn, leav- 
ing our stools as they stand. 
A hearty breakfast makes us feel like @ new man, 
and, after a fair discussion of its merits, lighting our 
pipe, we again wend our way to the scene of our 
triumph. The ery is still they come; flock after 
flock presents its compliments, and leaves memen- 
toes of its presence; but towards noon the hot sun 
disposes the birds to listless inactivity, the flight 
diminishes} and finally stops. Returning to the house 
with a bag larger by only three birds than that of 
the morning, we kill the hours before dinner by a 
few casts into the breakers, and land a ten-pound 
bass. : 
With sharpened appetite, we welcome the savory 
dinner, and are quite contented to rest and let our 
prey rest till five o’clock, when fifteen more birds 
reward our post-prandial exertions, and make up a 
