326 DUCK SHOOTING. 



was leading almost too much. He did an equal service 

 by me, and soon we began to acquire the lead, a distance 

 which seemed utterly absurd at first. The pile of birds 

 at our pit began to grow. At lunch time the Chief had 

 become a finished performer on the pass. A very nice- 

 looking farmer lady came out with a very nice-looking 

 lunch, and as she drove up, the Chief and I rose and cut 

 out four ducks from a passing flock, just to show the 

 lady how it was done. Alas for me ! I fell down on 

 my next chance, but the Chief killed a pair out the next 

 flight over. Then, as we gathered at the reed bed for 

 luncheon, he cut down a high single, and a moment 

 later yet another. I saw a glance of triumph come into 

 his eye. He had caught the knack of it. 



At lunch we paused now and then to kill, or try to 

 kill, the ducks which continued to pour over. Mr. 

 Bowers told me that he and some friends once killed 

 fourteen ducks at that same spot while they were eating 

 lunch one day. I think we dropped half a dozen or so 

 before we had cleaned up the lunch. A bountiful and 

 well-cooked one it was, and to have it thus brought 

 down warm from the farmhouse was the last touch of 

 comfort on this dry, comfortable and absolutely ideal 

 fly-way. A good part of our lunch was made up of 

 four grouse, which we had picked up along the road J 

 almost the only grouse we saw in this part of the coun- 

 try, where they are very scarce this year. 



After our lunch we resumed position in the skirmish 

 line, minus Gokey, who had a headache and did not 

 shoot for a while. It was an old story with Gokey, and 



