decoy was carved of wood, 

 equipped with glass eyes and 

 celluloid fins, and was given a 

 coat of yellow paint above and 

 silver beneath. When anchored 

 six inches below the surface of 

 the water a short distance off- 

 shore, the keenest-eyed fish- 

 hawk could hardly avoid being 

 misled. 



The day chosen for the trial 

 was fortunately a bright one, 

 making possible exposures of 

 exceeding rapidity. The wind 

 was in the southwest, so the 

 west or leeward shore of the 

 pond was selected and the um- 

 brella blind put up at the wa- 

 ter's edge. With the aid of 

 boots, my companion and 

 helper was able to place the de- 

 coy lO feet offshore, a distance 

 which for several reasons was 

 deemed suitable. The fish was 

 held below the surface by an 

 i8 - ounce rock (the decoy 

 weighing nine), which was tied 

 by a thread to a couple of 

 screws in the belly of the fish. 



Another thread was attached 

 to a peg in the snout and run 

 to the inside of the blind, the 

 object being to lend a lifelike 

 appearance to the dummy by 

 pulling the thread and moving 

 the fish about at its moorings 

 when the hawk arrived over- 

 head. 



All was now in perfect readi- 

 ness except that not a hawk 

 was anywhere to be seen! We 

 deemed it best, however, to do 

 our waiting out of sight, and 

 accordingly I entered my blind 

 and my companion hid himself 

 away in an old pig-pen a short 

 way up the shore. Inasmuch 

 as a wider view could be had 

 through a crack in the wall of 

 the pig's shelter than from the 

 peep-hole in the blind, my ac- 

 complice agreed to give a signal 

 the moment a hawk was sighted 

 in the distance. 



For nearly an hour things 

 were dull — the passmg of a 

 kingfisher, with his loud, sput- 



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27 



