64 Sporting Sketches 



locality. Then Larry got four or five chances at 

 passing pairs of black-bellied plover, and knocked 

 the big fellows over famously, much to his satisfac- 

 tion, for they are good birds. 



At last a double gun sounded from the direction 

 of the bars whither we had driven the flocks, and 

 soon an irregular fire proclaimed that others were 

 busy, and that our fun would shortly begin. We 

 lay low and waited, and soon the advance guard ap- 

 peared. At first in scattering flocks, then in one 

 long procession came waders of many varieties, and 

 we took reasonable toll of the finer sorts. 



All this time we had seen nothing of the wished- 

 for curlew, but at last Larry hailed me and pointed 

 lakeward. There, sure enough, was a distant cloud 

 of birds, and I moved over to the lake side of the 

 bar and lay down to watch. For how long we lay 

 there staring out over the shining expanse of lake I 

 do not know, but we had distant vision of a tremen- 

 dous flight of curlew, all apparently bound for resorts 

 on Lake Ontario. Dark cloud after dark cloud, like 

 puffs of smoke against the distant blue, showed, 

 passed, and vanished, as though following some 

 selected route, and it seemed as though the curlew 

 had utterly forgotten the existence of our tempting 

 bars. While we watched, uncounted plovers and 

 sandpipers flew over, or in front of, or pitched 

 behind us near the place I had forsaken, but we 

 had enough of them. 



It has been truly said that naught can escape a 

 patient watch and vigil long, and our turn came at 

 last. Low down and far away -over the water we 

 saw a dark, writhing, changing line that veered and 



