BILL BROWN'S RETRIEVER. 



TALMER C. GOBLE, JR. 



Yes, she is a fine dog, a little lame in the 

 front right foot, but not enough to disable 

 her. 



Retrieve? 



Yes, a good retriever, barring that same 

 front leg trouble. 



Where did I get her? 



From Bill Brown who used to live back 

 on the Riverside road. 



What did I pay? 



Not a cent; a clean gift and as fine a 

 bred spaniel as you ever saw. 



I never told you how I got her, did I? 

 I promised Bill I would never mention 

 it to him or anyone else, but he's gone 

 West and nobody can laugh loud enough 

 for him to hear it in Oklahoma, so I'll tell 

 you. 



It was along in November that a cold 

 spell set in and the wind blew up the lake 

 until it was too rough for a bird to float on. 

 One night I met Bill in the barber shop 

 and he proposed that we go down the river 

 at daybreak next morning to try for a few 

 ducks. The river was about 5 miles from 

 town by road and about 3 miles across 

 country. The only way to get the birds 

 that we dropped was to row out in the 

 stream for them and the only boat that we 

 could get was in Bill's woodshed. 



The roads were still soft and I did not 

 care much to push a boat, rigged on 2 

 wheels, through the mud for 5 miles, and 

 told Bill so. Bill was 6 feet 5 and I was 

 5 feet 6, but somehow when we go shooting 

 I have to do most of the boat pushing. 

 Bill said he had just the thing, a new span- 

 iel, a retriever that his brother had sent 

 him, and that we would try her the next 

 day; so, there being no boat to push, I said 

 I would go. 



Next morning, about 4, Bill rapped at 

 my window and in 5 minutes we were foot- 

 ing it across country with our hip boots 

 rubbing the skin from our heels, nearly 

 frozen in our canvas coats, and our teeth 

 chattering. 



We chose a place where the river broad- 

 ens to about 500 feet, a mile below the 

 Santa Fe bridge, and there, by helping Na- 

 ture a little, we soon had a blind that 

 would have deceived a man, to say noth- 

 ing of a duck. After putting out the de- 

 coys we squatted on a log behind the blind, 



facing one another so we could catch the 

 birds coming and going. 



After sitting about an hour we saw a 

 flock of 5 mallards coming down to us like 

 the wind. We got ready and I waited un- 

 til I heard the bang, bang, of Bill's right 

 and left ; then I pumped both barrels into 

 the flock. Between us we got 4. 



All that time the dog lay stretched on 

 her belly, never moving an eyelash until 

 Bill told her to fetch. She did not move. 

 After some coaxing, Bill grabbed her by 

 the back and threw her out as far as he 

 could into the river. She turned once or 

 twice in the water and then cut for the 

 bank where we stood, without waiting to 

 pick up a single bird. 



I think Bill would have shot her, but I 

 begged for another chance telling him the 

 dog could not find dead birds unless she saw 

 them fall. Meantime the whole 4 floated 

 down the river out of sight. Back into 

 our corners we went to wait for more luck- 

 less birds. 



Pretty soon Bill saw a black speck up 

 the stream slowly swimming for our de- 

 coys. We waited and watched until it got 

 within range; we jumped and up it rose, a 

 great greenhead. 



It was Bill's shot and he dropped it with 

 his left. 



"Now for the dog," said Bill. He gave 

 her a good start with his foot and we went 

 down the river bank, the dog well in the 

 lead. 



"Fetch," said Bill, and in she went, 

 straight for. the bird that was fast being 

 carried down stream. She reached it, 

 grabbed it, swam across the river, laid the 

 bird on the bank and then swam back to 

 where we were waiting. 



We did not get that bird either, making 

 5 we lost, for it was a mile to the bridge 

 and a mile back on the other side, and 

 neither of us would walk that far for one 

 duck. 



If Bill was angry when the dog failed 

 on the 4 he was much more so when she 

 returned empty mouthed from the other 

 bank and I had hard work to save her 

 from his wrath. In fact I had to threaten 

 to tell the story to the whole gun club if 

 he harmed her. 



So she is mine, and as fine a spaniel as 

 ever lived, even if she can not retrieve. 



Johnny : How did you know I went in 

 swimming? 



Mother: A little bird told me. 



Johnny: One of them darned English 

 sparrows, I suppose. 



3Si 



