In the Haunts of Wild Fowl 121 



"Every goose oughter pass this blind to- 

 day. The wind's blowin' straight across 

 their track, the flocks can't hear our 

 guns, and we can hammer 'em the whole 

 tide." 



The goose is the wildest and smartest of 

 all the fowl of our coast and the most diffi- 

 cult to kill. I had shot only four in several 

 years' outing in Virginia, and was crazy for a 

 storm day in their track. 



At last it had come. The wind was blow- 

 ing now a furious gale — so strong were its 

 gusts it was almost impossible to shove out 

 of our blind against it. 



The first flock of geese show by their flight 

 the track they will follow for the day. The 

 sound of one gun heard by them will change 

 their plans instantly and cause them to 

 take a new course ten or twelve miles in the 

 opposite direction. 



But we had them to-day. The wind was 

 at right angles to their course, and they could 



