124 A MEDLEY OF SPORT 



from the leeside of the jetty the " rag of calico " begins 

 to fill and belly, and there being some weight in the 

 northerly breeze the tiny ship shows quite a good turn of 

 speed down the narrow, tortuous gully which will carry 

 her almost into the mouth of the river. 



Despite the sinuosities of the creek, Gilson steers his 

 shallow, silent craft past every tongue and spit of ooze 

 with unerring skill ; no easy matter, this, for the wind 

 being dead aft and fresh, the smallest mistake on the part 

 of the helmsman might end in a gybe and possibly a 

 capsize, a gunning-punt being a ticklish craft when 

 under sail. At length, after some thirty minutes of rapid 

 sailing, a beacon marking the entrance to R — river 

 is made. The sail is now lowered, the mast unstepped, 

 and both are stowed under the side deck. " Theei 

 should be a tidy lot o' fowl a-shelterin' in the crick after 

 yesterday's snow-tempest, Maister Dick ; so do 'ee keep 

 your eyes open and your mouth shut, and don't 'ee touch 

 the trigger-string till I give the word," remarks the old 

 gunner, somewhat pointedly, to his disciple, knowing only 

 too well that youthful sportsmen are very apt to forget 

 that wildfowl are endowed by Nature with exceptionally 

 quick hearing, while every big-gunner's fingers, be he old 

 or young, itch to " pull " into a company of fowl long 

 enough before the proper moment arrives. 



Having delivered his oration, Gilson takes the setting- 

 stick and begins to pole the punt over the shoals and 

 towards the mouth of the creek, which, in the uncertain 

 light of early morning, looks like a wide breach in the 



