134 GAME SHOAL-WATER FOWL. 



ing low and watching my every motion. Getting 

 as near as I wished, I fired both barrels, and suc- 

 ceeded in stopping thirteen, eight being dead and 

 five splashing round with wings broken or other- 

 wise crippled. In went the dog. I ran down to 

 the water's edge, when he brought me out four 

 of the cripples, passing by the dead ones going 

 and returning, and not paying any attention to 

 them (the fifth skulked low down in the water, 

 and he did not see her). When he had de- 

 livered the fourth, he started along the lake 

 shore as fast as he could go. I called and 

 whistled ; he paid no attention to me, but kept 

 on some hundred and fifty yards or so, and, div- 

 ing into the grass, appeared with another crippled 

 duck, which he immediately brought to me. I 

 had no idea what he could be going after, but 

 his quick eye had seen the duck fall from the 

 flock when mine were engaged in another direc- 

 tion. After his retrieving the dead ones, we re- 

 turned to the party with ducks enough for sup- 

 per. I have often had him bring me over a 

 dozen crippled ducks in a day, while going to and 

 coming from the ponds — ducks that I had no idea 

 were near me. He would come across their trail 

 when they had run up into the woods from the 



