A Day with the Rails. 755 



tance if he was flushed quite near the boat, for otherwise his shot 

 would blow him to pieces. 



Arriving at the edge of the marsh, the pushers shipped their 

 oars, and, plunging the broad butts of their gaffs into the mud, with 

 strong and skillful arms they sent the boats into the midst of the 

 water-oats. 



As they entered the oats, the youth stood up in the boat, and was 

 gazing with that steady, wide-awake, and all-around look so well 

 known to those who have watched a sportsman in the act of flushing 

 a bird. He held his gun with the muzzle pointing upward. His 

 left hand was well forward on the fore-end, with the forefinger of 

 his right under the trigger-guard. The pusher at once took in the 

 pose, and saw that his father had been schooling him. The next 

 instant a thrill was sent through the young sportsman as two birds 

 sprung from the oats — one directly in front of him, the other on his 

 left quarter. The first he fired at instantly and blew to pieces. In 

 his haste to get the other, he shifted his left foot, tilted the boat, and 

 then shot under the bird. The old pusher here stopped his boat, 

 and, leaning on his gaff, said : 



" Well ! that's a good lesson. I had no idee you'd 'a' shewn off 

 the good p'ints I give you so soon. I tell you ag'in to give the near 

 bird time before shootin', and when you take a side shot don't take 

 a step in dancin'. But the bird's 'a count,' so I'll jist find his head 

 to show your father that you killed your first bird." 



They had not gone over twenty yards farther when three rails 

 sprung up. The first that caught the boy's eye was the one which, 

 with a rather rapid rate, went to the right. This he fired at and missed. 

 The other bird flew to the left, and this one he killed cleanly. The 

 pusher "marked" and "boated" this bird, and then went for the 

 bird first shot at. Though he had accurately marked him down, he 

 failed to flush him on approaching the spot. The pusher said the 

 rail had gone under the water and was no doubt quite near, cling- 

 ing to a submerged stalk with his beak just above water, and that it 

 was useless to try to flush him, for he would allow the boat to go 

 over him before he would take wing. He said the rails often acted 

 in this manner after they had been Hushed and shot at, or when 

 they had been slightly wounded. Sometimes, however, even when 

 they had not been already flushed, they would remain perfectly 



