THE DROWNED LANDS. 145 



shot, I knew by the way he came down. The duck had gained 

 some distance by this time, going straight away. No fear of her 

 escape; the success of my first shot gave me confidence, and I 

 knew the power of the little Mullen gun I held at my shoulder. 

 Canny John Mullen, in his grim little smithy in Ann Street, 

 working away with his brogue and cunning hand — how often I 

 have thanked him when he never knew it ! " Quack ! quack ! " 

 The sound was faint from the distance when I fired, but the duck 

 rolled over and over, with its wings spinning, till it was lost to 

 sight. 



" Yah ! ha ! ya ! Maussa ; good shot. Did you ebber 1 Well, 

 now, I gives up — dat beats dis child ! " 



We paddled on, and found the first duck dead, and the second 

 with both wings broken, and easily secured. While loading, four 

 ducks came flying over from the direction of the other boats. I 

 hastily poured in some loose shot, and crouching down in the 

 canoe, capped my gun, while I watched the birds approach, and 

 when they were so near I could see the mottling on their breasts, 

 arose suddenly to my feet. Scared by my sudden appearance, 

 they breasted the air, swerving off to the right and left. Ho ! 

 what fair shots ! I could have killed them with a pistol. The first 

 barrel brought two, the second, one, and the other bird departed 

 sadly frightened. 



Thus we passed on, getting fair shots every fifty yards at small 

 bunches of ducks that arose from the little lagoons, and an 

 occasional long shot at some passing bird that had been frightened 

 from his proper feeding-ground by the incursion of the hunters. 

 The difficult shot was the one where the bird came directly 

 toward you, and twenty yards or so overhead. The sportsman must 

 then take his aim on the duck, and when it is within distance, jerk 

 the gun forward and fire blindly. At the instant of firing the 

 bird is not seen ; no matter, practice makes perfect, and this is the 

 killing shot. Another plan is to let the bird pass, and then shoot. 

 This plan enables the marksman to see the bird at the instant of 

 firing, as his aim is then under the bird. Either plan is good if 

 it gets the bird. 



At the same time that the game was abundant, the scenery 



K 



