156 NATURAL HISTORY AND 



flock when they flew. The chance was much too 

 distant to injure their bodies, but a duck and 

 drake dropped wing-broken into the water. Both 

 made several dives, and finally disappeared at 

 opposite sides of the loch. Confident in the pains- 

 taking caution of Auk, I desired him to search the 

 bank, expecting a shot when the ducks rushed 

 from their hiding into the water ; but at the first 

 round this experienced retriever found and se- 

 cured both, without giving either the chance of 

 making a dash from their concealment, which the 

 slightest bungle on his part would have enabled 

 them to do. 



Not long after I had my revenge on one of the 

 self-elected guardians of the ducks. Placing one 

 of my sons a little below the outlet, where the 

 flight, when disturbed, are apt to leave the fresh 

 water for the sea, I showed myself on the top of a 

 steep height on the opposite side. As soon as I 

 appeared the ducks knit together and took wing, 

 but flew past the ambuscade quite out of reach. 

 Like all very young sportsmen, the boy fired a 

 warning to the ducks to take it high when again 

 expelled from their city of waters. Now it hap- 



