286 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



lighter than on the first evening, the sport still remained 

 excellent. Sunday, intervening, gave the ducks a rest, 

 but our sport was well up to the average on the 

 Monday night, although the ducks were flying slightly 

 higher. Still intent on making the best of our sport 

 whilst so excellent an opportunity served, we again 

 visited this bean-stubble on the Tuesday evening. 

 There was then a marked falling-off in our sport, and 

 for the following reason : The ducks had at length 

 found out the danger of coming in to feed in the 

 ordinary way, and displayed much cunning by coming 

 in overhead out of gun-shot, and when directly over 

 the stubble they would drop almost straight down to 

 the ground and alight. Still, as the ducks came freely, 

 we determined not to be outdone. We therefore had 

 two pits dug in the best positions in the centre of their 

 feeding-ground, and flight-time the next evening found 

 us fixed up therein, all external evidences of this new 

 move, in the shape of excavated soil and so forth, 

 having first been carefully removed. We were not long 

 in discovering that from such position the shooting 

 was decidedly more difficult, for the ducks swooped 

 down right atop of us, and so were sometimes quacking 

 upon the ground before we could raise the gun to 

 shoulder. Once or twice shots were obtained at birds 

 before alighting, but the greater number were killed as 

 they got up from the ground. Then, as they rose 

 straight in the air on the light or western side of us, 

 we could sight them plainly enough, but to the eastward 

 of our position, with a background of dark sky, it was 

 practically impossible to see the ducks. 



Although in a general way the evening flight is 

 most productive of sport, it does not always follow 



