SHOOTING OVER DECOYS 45 



to my credit. I noticed, however, another gunner — he 



afterwards proved to be B 's Scotch ganger — who 



was lying up in a belt of reeds about 200 yards distant 

 from my "blind" drop duck after duck; indeed, the 

 general line of flight appeared to be over his stand rather 

 than over my own, and he must have made a goodly bag. 



When the sun had risen well above the horizon I, under 

 the impression that the flight was over, got up from a 

 kneeling position, when I saw a big bunch of pochard 

 heading straight for me, and, deeming it probable that 

 they would settle among my decoys, I dropped behind 

 the screen of sedges again. Not until I heard the 

 " whistling " of the ducks' pinions very distinctly did 

 I venture to look up, and then I had the satisfaction 

 of seeing them close up together preparatory to alighting 

 among the decoys and within twenty-five yards of my 

 " blind." 



A couple of the duck dropped dead to the contents of my 

 first barrel, and a third, hard hit, fluttered out to the 

 reeds, but I succeeded in gathering him a few minutes 



later. B now joined me, and he, like myself, had 



not enjoyed very good sport — indeed, our aggregate bag 

 only amounted to seventeen duck (various) and a coot. 



During the laborious paddle home my companion 

 managed by some means to get separated from me, and 

 I had to navigate my dug-out through the lagoons and 

 dense aquatic-growth unpiloted. For a long while I 

 tried unsuccessfully to find the weak spots in the reeds 

 which lead from one lagoon to the next, and even when 

 I drew clear of them and gained more open water I some- 

 how got out of the proper course and found myself hard 

 and fast aground on the shore of a little bay in the lagoon. 



