My First Pair of Mallards. 



inquired, "Well, Will what luck?" On telling him of my poor 

 success, he consoled me by saying: "Never mind, son. It is 

 very evident that those ducks have been shot at since you last 

 visited them. You say that there are now only five of the 

 young ones, while there were six all summer ; the missing one 

 was likely shot by some passing hunter from the cover of the 

 thicket, and they have become shy and keep away from it dur- 

 ing the day. If you will get there some morning before day- 

 light, you will be certain to get a shot at them when they work 

 "in to feed." The next morning was cold and raw, but I was in 

 my hiding place before it was fairly light. I could hear the 

 ducks diving and splashing in the water, as they gradually 

 worked in toward the shore. Just as the sun was creeping up 

 behind the hills across the pond, I raised up carefully and 

 peeked through the tops of the rice and cat-tails. There they 

 were near enough for a shot, but getting very uneasy. Throw- 

 ing the little gun to my shoulder, I caught a quick aim and 

 pulled the trigger, just in time to catch them before they got 

 on the wing. What was my surprise to see two of them remain 

 on the water one dead and the other so badly wounded it 

 could not get away. I was in full swimming costume in about 

 a minute, paying no heed to mud, water or cold and when I 

 swam back to shore with those two ducks I was the proudest 

 boy in the beautiful Prairie State. The fact that I had earned 

 my gun and ammunition and killed my ducks alone added 

 much to the pleasure. I visited the old pond many times dur- 

 ing the fall, and got several ducks and many grey squirrels 

 from the nearby woods ; but never again did I experience quite 

 the same thrill of pleasure from any successful shot as I did 

 from that which brought me my first pair of mallards. 



Sports Afield. 



[22] 



