7i WARWICK WOODLANDS, 



"Come here, darn you," were the first words I heard, 

 from the mouth of what speaker it need not be said — 

 "come here, you lazy, snortin, snoozin Decker — lend a 

 hand here right stret away, will you? We've got more 

 perch than all of us can carry — and Archer's got six 

 wood-duck." 



Hurrying down in obedience to this unceremonious 

 mandate, I perceived that indeed their time had not been 

 misemployed, for the whole bottom of the larger boat was 

 heaped with fish — the small and delicate green perch, the 

 cat-fish, hideous in its natural, but most delicious in its 

 artificial shape, and, above all, the large and broad-backed 

 yellow bass, from two to four pounds weight. While 

 Archer, who had gone forth with Garry only in the canoe, 

 had picked up half a dozen wood-duck, two or three of 

 the large yellow-legs, a little bittern, known by a far less 

 elegant appellative throughout the country, and thirteen 

 English snipe. 



"By Jove!" cried I, "but this is something like — where 

 the deuce did you pick the snipe up, Harry — and, above 

 all, why the deuce did you let me lie wallowing in bed this 

 lovely morning?" 



"One question at a time," responded he, "good Master 

 Frank; one question at a time. For the snipe, I found 

 them very unexpectedly, I tell you, in a bit of marshy 

 meadow just at the outlet of the pond. Garry was pad- 

 dling me along at the top of his pace, after a wing tipped 

 wood-duck, when up jumped one of the long-billed rascals, 

 and had the impudence to skim across the creek under my 

 very nose — 'skeap! skeap!' Well, I dropped him, you 

 may be sure, with a charge, too, of duck shot ; and he 

 fell some ten yards over on the meadow ; so leavina: Garry 

 to pursue the drake, I landed, loaded my gun with No. 9, 

 and went to work — the result as you see ; but I cleared the 

 meadow — devil a bird is left there, except one I cut to 

 pieces, and could not find for want of Chase — two went 

 away without a shot, over the hills and far away. As for 

 letting you lie in bed, you must talk to Tom about it ; I 

 bid him call you, and the fat rascal never did so, and 

 never said n word about you, till we were ready for a 

 start, and then no Master Frank was to the fore." 



"Well, Tom," cried T, "what have you got to say to 

 this?" 



