Simpson's snipe 61 



" Not a doubt of it. But what became of the 

 ducks ? " 



" Troth, thin, ye'U hear. The Major dhropped 

 two av thim wud the combusticles in the blundher- 

 buss, but th' ould mallard kep' floatin' on the wather 

 in a quare soart av a way, an' yellin' murdher. 

 When the Major kem nigh him, he seen that he 

 was fastened like to somethin' undher the wather; 

 an whin he cotch him, what do you think he found ? 

 It's truth I'm tellin' ye, an' no lie : he found the ram- 

 rod, that he neglected for to take out o' the gun, run 

 right through th' ould mallard. Half av it was in 

 the mallard, an' be the hole in me coat, th' other 

 half was stuck in a lovely lump av a salmon ; and 

 the bould Major cotch thim both. ' Now,' says he, 

 ' come on, Sir Tim an the whole creel of yez, who's 

 afeard ? ' An' I'm just thinkin sir," added Billy, 

 as we dashed into the railway yard, " that if ye 

 don't get a slice av luck like Major Moriarty's, yer 

 frind might as well be on the Hill o' Howth." 



The force of Billy's remark riveted itself in my 

 mind, and the idea of asking a man so long a dis- 

 tance to shoot nothing was very little short of insult. 

 Mr Simpson arrived as we drove in, arrayed in an 

 ulster just imported from Inverness. His hat was 

 new ; his boots were new ; his gloves awfully new, 

 yellow and stiff, and forcing his fingers very far 



