47 



as possible, and sufficiently large and impenetrable 

 to sight to afford proper concealment. If the 

 ducks are liable to approach from different direc- 

 tions, build it to enclose you completely. A half- 

 built blind is a nuisance. 



It is certainly laughable to see a greenhorn 

 behind a blind such as he usually builds — a few 

 bushes stuck up to dodge around — when, as it often 

 happens, a couple of flocks of ducks may be ap- 

 proaching at the same time from different direc- 

 tions. At first he tries to hide from both, but, 

 giving that up as impossible, makes up his mind 

 which of the flocks is of the most heedless dispo- 

 sition, or is coming most directly towards him, 

 and«so jumps to that side of his clump of bushes 

 which affords most concealment from them. On 

 looking over his shoulder an instant, however, his 

 mind wavers, and, affecting his body, that, too, 

 begins to waver, first to one side of the blind, 

 and then to the other, as the vacillations of the 

 mind seem to 'prompt it. All his motions, how- 

 ever, only serve to attract the attention of the 

 ducks, and they swerve by to either side far out 

 of reach. He now deliberates awhile, and concludes 

 his blind is not large enough. So he starts for 

 the nearest timber or patch of bushes to cut more 



