WARWICK WOODLANDS. 59 



Merrit's Island; and then beat down here home to the 

 first bridge again. But won't you liquor?" 



"No, not this morning, John ; we did our liquoring last 

 night. Tom, do you hear what John says T' 



"1 hear, I hear," growled out old Tom; "but the critter 

 lies like nauthen. He always does lie, cuss him." 



"Well, here goes, and we'll soon see!" 



And away we went again, spinning down a little de- 

 scent, to a flat space between the hill-foot and the river, 

 having a thick tangled swamp on the right, and a small 

 boggy meadow full of grass, breast-high, with a thin open 

 alder grove beyond it on the left. Just as we reached the 

 bridge Harry pulled up. 



''Jump out, boys, jump out! Here's the spot." 



"I tell you there aint none; darn you! There aint none 

 never here, nor haint been these six years; you know that 

 now, yourself. Archer." 



"We'll try it, all the same," said Harry, who was coolly 

 loading his gun. "The season has been wetter than com- 

 mon and this ground is generally too dry. Drive on, Tim, 

 over the bridge, into the hollow ; you'll be out of shot 

 there; and wait till we come. Holloa! mark, Tom." 



For, as the wagon wheels rattled upon the bridge, up 

 jumped a cock out of the ditch by the road side, from 

 under a willow brush, and skimmed past all of us within 

 five yards. Tom Draw and T, who had got out after 

 Harry, were but in the act of ramming down our first 

 bari'els; but Harry, who had loaded one, and was at that 

 moment putting down the wad upon the second, dropped 

 his ramrod with the most perfect sang-froid I ever wit- 

 nessed, took a cap out of his right-hand pocket, applied it 

 to the cone, and pitching up his gun, knocked down the 

 bird as it wheeled to cross the road behind us, by the 

 cleverest shot possible. 



"That's pretty well for no birds, anyhow, Tom," he ex- 

 claimed, dropping his butt to load. "Go and gather that 

 bird, Frank, to save time; he lies in the wagon rut, there. 

 How now? down charge, you Chase, sir! what are you 

 about?" 



The bird was quickly bagged, and Harry loaded. We 

 stepped across a dry ditch, and both dogs made game at 

 the same instant. 



