PUNT SHOOTING. 113 



" Shove the punt's nose aground, and nip out quick," 

 said I, for I heard the cripples flapping and paddling 

 off as hard as they could go across the mud. " Go 

 after the cripples, never mind the dead ones, they'll 

 take care of themselves." Accordingly, as we got on 

 shore, "Well," I said, "are there many?" " Ay, 

 maun, the place is all over decks." " Well, get what 

 you can, and chuck them into the punt to me ; I'll soon 

 slip their necks for them ; and be sure and get all the 

 cripples you can first," and as he brought the poor 

 wretches to me I slipt their necks. This is rather an 

 art, and very few can do it. I, however, learnt it of a 

 decoy man. "But, man alive!" said he, "what have 

 we gotten here ? Surely them's twa young swarns ? " 

 As soon as I saw them I knew what had happened. 

 " Never mind the swans," said I, " put them in the 

 punt/' By this time he had got as many cripples as 

 he could, and the rest were still holloaing and flap- 

 ping all over the mud. There seemed to be " decks " 

 everywhere, but as they had gone to every point of 

 the compass, and the mud was pretty deep, he said he 

 was quite beaten to find them, as it was very dark. 



I perceived at once, when I saw the " twa young 

 swarns," that I had killed somebody's tame Aylesbury 

 ducks, with fine coral-coloured bills, and nearly as big 



I 



