i26 The Wild-Fowlers 



o' cartridges, put 'em at yer feet, an' then 

 lay down as close es yer can. Ef any 

 birds com' along a great way off an' don' 

 see yer, raise yer leg up like this " and 

 the Captain threw his rubber-booted leg 

 up in the air and waved it up and down 

 in imitation of a duck raising itself out of 

 water and shaking its feathers, as he ex- 

 plained " an' quack a little like this." 

 And here he made the oddest sort of imi- 

 tative duck call ever heard in the Great 

 South Bay. 



" Ef they be in perty nigh, an' yet not 

 noticin' th' stools, make yer han's go pas' 

 each other fas' like I be a-doin'. But don' 

 show yer head an' don' smoke. Yer hev 

 nothin' teh fear; th' machine can't blow 

 erway, it can't sink more 'n two feet, an' 

 droundenin' be out o' th' question. Ef 

 th* water splashes in on yer, turn up them 

 ere lead string pieces es runs all 'bout. 

 When yer kills a bird, wave yer cap. I '11 

 look toward yer from th' sloop every time 

 I hears yer gun there comes a bunch o' 



