8 Sporting Sketches 



was a small, thin fringe of dried weeds, which 

 marked a spot where the wheat had failed. Twice 

 Wa-Wa looked at it, then suddenly he remembered 

 that snow always flattens such weeds indeed, all 

 other weeds lay flat. Then his marvellous eye made 

 out the dim outline of a prone figure, which so closely 

 matched the scant cover that no other gander would 

 ever have noticed it. For a moment Wa-Wa was 

 almost frightened. There was something so devil- 

 ishly crafty about the thing that the bare idea of it 

 made him shudder as he swung slowly around it at 

 a safe distance. Presently he detected the slightest 

 of movements and then a glint of red. Instantly his 

 wrath blazed hotly, for there were the well-remem- 

 bered hated eyes, fairly flaming with savage eager- 

 ness. 



Back to the troop went Wa-Wa. Every member 

 had been told what to expect when they reached the 

 place indeed, the story of Wa-Wa's enemy had 

 been honked and hawked from mouth to mouth from 

 the Arctic to the South. After explaining the situ- 

 ation, Wa-Wa led the way directly over the weeds. 

 Once again the expected smoke arose, but this time 

 the shower of stuff pattered smartly so smartly 

 that one young girl of a goose yelled " Ker-ouch ! " 

 as loud as she could. Bidding the rest go on, 

 Wa-Wa circled and again passed over the weeds. 

 To his amazement, two more puffs of smoke belched 

 up and something whizzed mighty close to his head. 

 " He can shoot more times and farther now," thought 

 Wa-Wa, and with the thought came a decidedly 

 uncomfortable feeling. The next instant he was fu- 

 rious, and he fairly screamed his farewell, " Hunk ! 



