158 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



bush, and then I seen them all in a lump like, except two ; 

 six ducks and a big drake feeding and stickin' down their 

 heads into the weeds, and flutterin' up their hinder eends, and 

 chatterin' and jokin' I could have covered them all with a 

 handkercher, exeeptin' two, as I said afore, one duck and the 

 little drake, and they was off a rod or better from the rest, at 

 the two different sides of the stream the big bunch warn't 

 over ten rods off me, nor so far ; so T tuck sight right at the big 

 drake's neck. The water was quite clear and still, and seemed 

 to have caught all the little light as was left by the sun, for the 

 skies had got pretty dark, I tell you ; and I could see his head 

 quite clear agin the water well, I draw'd trigger, and the hull 

 charge ripped into 'em and there was a scrabblin' and a 

 squatterin' in the water now, I tell you but not one on 'em 

 riz not the darned one of the hull bunch ; but up jumped 

 both the others, and I d rawed on the drake more by the 

 whistlin' of his wings, than that I seen him but I drawed 

 stret, Archer, any ways ; and arter I'd pulled half a moment I 

 hard him plump down into the creek with a splash, and the 

 water sparkled up like a fountain where he fell. So then I 

 didn't wait to load, but ran along the bank as hard as I could 

 strick it, and when I'd got down to the spot, I tell you, little 

 Dash had got two on 'em out afore I carne, and was in with a 

 third. Well, sich, a cuttin' and a splashin' as there was you 

 niver did see, none on you I guess, for sartin leastwise I 

 niver did. I'd killed, you see, the drake and two ducks, dead 

 at the first fire, but three was only wounded, wing-tipped, and 

 leg-broken, and I can't tell you what all. It was all of nine 

 o'clock at night, and dark as all out doors, afore I gathered 

 them three ducks, but I did gather 'em ; Lord, boys, why I'd 

 stayed till mornin, but I'd a got them, sarten. Well, the drake 

 I killed flyin' I couldn't find him that night, no how, for the 

 stream swept him down, and I hadn't got no guide to go by, 

 so I let him go then, but I was up next mornin' bright and 

 airly, and started up the stream clean from the bridge here, up 

 through Garry's backside, and my boghole, and so on along the 

 meadows to Aunt Sally's run and looked in every willow bush 

 that dammed the waters back, like, and every bunch of weeds, 

 and brier-brake, all the way, and sure enough I found him, he'd 

 been killed dead, and floated down the crick, and then the 

 stream had washed him up into a heap of broken sticks and 

 briers, and when the waters fell, for there had been a little 



