IV. A WILD DUCK. 



C:- 



I^^ HE title will suggest to most boys a 



-^ line across the autumn sky at sunset, 

 j^ with a bit of mystery about it ; or else 



a dark triangle moving southward, 

 high and swift, at Thanksgiving time. 

 To a few, who know well the woods 

 and fields about their 'homes, it may suggest a lonely 

 little pond, with a dark bird rising swiftly, far out of 

 reach, leaving the ripples playing among the sedges. 

 To those accustomed to look sharply it will suggest 

 five or six more birds, down)' little fellows, hiding safe 

 among roots and grasses, so still that one seldom 

 suspects their presence. But the duck, like most 

 game birds, loves solitude ; the details of his life he 

 keeps very closely to himself ; and boys must be 

 content with occasional glimpses. 



This is especially true of the dusky duck, more 

 generally known by the name black duck among 

 hunters. He is indeed a wild duck, so wild that 

 one must study him with a gun, and study him long 

 before he knows much about him. An ordinary 



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