GEORGE RAY NOR. 165 



could be taken care of and consumed at home or given 

 to friends, and the presence of about 350 pounds of ducks 

 in the boat and the prospect of five days' more 

 shooting presented a problem. What could we do 

 with this mass of game? We could not eat much of it 

 and we had but few local friends. In the excitement of 

 shooting these questions had not obtruded themselves as 

 they did now. Pondering on these things, I asked: 

 "Billy, what will we do with all the ducks?" 



"They are all right; there'll be a man at the landing 

 to meet us who will take care of them; there he stands 

 now waiting for us. He will send them to market every 

 day, and on Saturday we will keep out what we want to 

 take home."' 



The man took the game and put it in his wagon and 

 drove off to the railway station, and after supper he came 

 in and settled up, paying us $15.30 for our ducks, or 

 about what it had cost for the expenses for ammunition 

 and travel. This was certainly paying expenses, and 

 just what I had hoped for in going West, but somehow 

 it was not satisfactory. It brought into the transaction 

 a mercenary spirit which had never before been con- 

 nected with my sport. At first the feeling of dissatisfac- 

 tion was vague and without shape. We divided the 

 money and talked it over. The expedition was more 

 than successful from a financial point, but there was 

 something in my manner which caused my companion 

 to say: 



"You don't seem as enthusiastic as you did. What's 

 the matter? Don't you like the table they set here, or 

 did something happen down in the marsh which dis- 

 pleased you? Be frank with me, and spit it out if any- 

 thing has gone wrong; don't sulk, fire it out." 



Up to this point I really did not know the cause of a 



