UP THE SACRAMENTO. 241 



Joash. ' Let him have a shot at ^em^ at a dollar a head 

 all round ; he can^t hit a flying hotel/ says Pike to the 

 widow. ' Can't he now really ? ' says she; ^ well young 

 man, I guess you shall have a shot at 'em for ten dollars 

 in advance.-' ' Stop/ says old Pike, ^ afore we starts in 

 now, let's have the whole thing properly fixed up, fair 

 and square. In course, in any case, we has a goose for 

 supper, kill or no kill.' The widow assented to this ; the 

 ten dollars were paid down, and they went outside to 

 settle the distance, &c. ; when Pike, just as he's a-going 

 out of the door, says to me, ' Darned if I don't have a 

 game out of this yere lot of geese. There's his gun in 

 the corner ; draw his shot.' Well, they was some time 

 settling distance, getting the geese together, &c. ; and 

 Joash he wanted a rest, and so on for half an hour, 

 during which time I drawed all the shot from the gun, 

 and went outside also. Waal, at last all war settled, 

 and Joash fetched out his gun, and, arter aiming away 

 like mad for five minutes, he fires. ^Nary feather,' 

 says Pike, coolly ; ' I'll just trouble you to hand over 

 tew dollars, my young hothouse tulip.' 'Wa-all, I am 

 tee-to-taciously and completely darned, I am,' says Joash, 

 staring away at the geese, who didn't seem to care a red 

 cent either way. ' Don't give it up,' says Pike ; ' go in 

 again, ray youthful 'possum, with that blunderbus of 

 yourn,' and he laughed in an irritating way like. ' Oh, 

 yes,' says Widow Hiram, quite delighted, ^ young man, 

 you may fire at 'em all day long at 50 cents, a piece. 

 Have another go in at 30 cents — that's three dollars — and 

 geese worth Z\ dollars a piece j my ! ' Well, yer know, 

 this Widow Hiram was as mean a cuss as ever walked, 

 and all the boys kinder wanted to score one off her, and 

 Pike, I reckon, he did score. ^ Go in, Joash, my coon ; 



