DAYS AMONG THE DUCKS. 95 



with beamy chestnut and velvety black, came 

 whizzing past from the right. My friend was 

 not yet a hundred yards away, and I thought it a 

 good opportunity to show him how I could shoot. 

 As I whirled the gun toward the game, a blue- 

 winged teal, bound to reach Louisiana before 

 dark, came hissing from the opposite direction, 

 and must have been ten feet past the wood-duck 

 by the time the first barrel went off. How I 

 jerked that gun back again toward the teal with- 

 out breaking the stock I don't know to this day. 

 But it was one of those rare opportunities to try 

 the most difficult of all shots that are irresistibly 

 tempting. One is foolish to attempt such a shot 

 where any one can see him ; for the second bird 

 is almost certain to be fifty yards or more beyond 

 the place where you fire at the first bird before 

 you can possibly reverse the motion of the gun 

 and throw it far enough to the other side. In 

 both cases the aim must be taken and the trigger 

 pulled with the quickness of thought, for the 

 slightest delay or failure to cover the second bird 

 with the center of the charge is almost certain to 

 be fatal to success. 



In a few minutes a big mallard came along 



