354 



RECREATION. 



bottom, too. Say pard, I'm blowed if 

 that old steamboat hain't slid off, and she's 

 heading for the point. So long, pard, 

 I'll see you in town." 



"Cap, it looks as if the steamer would 

 get there ahead of us." 



"Yes, I think likely. The wind is dead 

 against us and we shall have to beat in. 

 Look there! The launch is afloat, too, 

 and is heading for the point. Guess you'll 

 have a cold supper to-night. You ought 

 to have stayed on the steamer." 



We got in one hour after the other 

 boats and I immediately went to my 

 friend's house. After supper I went to 

 bed, as we had to start at 3 the next morn- 

 ing. 



At 2 :30 while drinking our coffee and 

 eating oar bread and sausages, Dan said: 



"Now Tom, about 4 miles out across 

 the plains is a pond about 10 times the 

 size of this room, and in that hole I have 

 counted 15 black ducks; bred this year. 

 They have never been shot at. The pond 

 is surrounded with bushes, and it will be 

 dead easy to crawl to the water's edge. 

 My son, Eddie, would like to go with us, 

 as he wants to get in some work with 

 his old muzzle loader after you get 

 through with the bunch." 



"That's right, Dan, let him go; I am 

 glad to know he enjoys black ducking. 

 Between us we will not let many of those 

 ducks get away." 



"That's ■all right. You fill your pipe 

 and mine, too, while you are at it; I'll go 

 and push the old mare between the shafts 

 and we'll be off." 



Oh! that morning! how I wish I could 

 live it over again. When Dan sung out 

 that he was ready, I went out to the team, 

 or rather fell out (there were 3 steps in- 

 stead of 2), and as I lighted my pipe I 

 saw in the wagon some decoys, the dog 

 and guns, a pail of oats for the horse and 

 a bottle labeled wife beater. Then the 

 match went out and I stood there in the 

 dark perfectly happy and contented, until 

 Dan yelled out: 



"Why in thunder don't you get in?" 



I told him I was wondering how many 

 of those ducks would get away. Dan is 

 a good driver, in day time, but in the dark 

 he is about like any other driver. In go- 

 ing out of the gate he tore the whole side 

 of the fence off; but he didn't seem to 

 mind it much. He said he had often 

 thought he must either trade his wagon off 

 or take the fence down. 



Out across the plains we had plain sail- 

 ing. Every little while we could hear a 

 yellowleg whistling, or a "scaip" from a 

 snipe, and in going past a clump of bushes 

 in a hollow we could hear some ducks. 

 I wanted to get out and try my luck at 

 them, but Dan would not let me. 



"We will take these in on our way home. 

 That's why I brought those decoys. We 

 will not need them at the first place we 

 are going to. Now Tom, we are pretty 

 near the slough hole. You and Eddie get 

 out and crawl to it. It is easy crawling 

 and after you get in the bushes you will 

 be all right." 



We started in and finally got there 

 safe. It was just beginning to get light, 

 and after we got in the bushes I whis- 

 pered to Eddie to keep perfectly still. 

 He was back of and a little to the right 

 of me, and I was just going to tell him 

 to move up a little when I heard a splash. 

 I pushed the bushes aside, looked out on 

 the water and, Great Scott! Right there 

 before me, within 25 yards was Dan's 

 bunch of ducks. I counted them. There 

 were 15, 6 right in a line with me, broad- 

 side, or with their heads under water 

 feeding. Every second or 2 a tail would 

 bob up straight in the air as the duck 

 struck a little deeper place in the water. 



Talk about buck fever! I must have 

 had a fowl chill. I was numb with cold 

 and shivering like a leaf in the wind. I 

 turned to Eddie and whispered in his ear: 



"I'll give 'em one barrel sitting, and 

 when they rise you soak 'em with that 8 

 bore of yours. Then I'll finish them 

 with my second barrel." 



I got in position again; poked my gun 

 through an opening in the bushes, sighted 

 her and let her go. Then again, with the 

 second barrel, and about the same time 

 Eddie's canno-n went off. 



We rushed to the edge of the water 

 to take care of the winged ones, but 

 nothing was stirring save a little smoke 

 curling up over the edge of the bushes. 

 I told Eddie to pick up what he could find 

 on the left and I would attend to the rest. 

 The 6 that were feeding were belly up. 

 right in a row, and a little to the left 

 were 3 more. Eddie came back with 6, 

 and as we laid them in a. row on the edge 

 of the pond I said, 



"What do you think of that, my boy? 

 You wait here and watch 'em and I'll go 

 and yell to your father to come with the 

 team and load up." 



I went out through the bushes, and 

 when I got in the open I yelled "Dan!" 

 He didn't answer, so I yelled again, "Dan, 

 Dan!" 



No answer. I'll make him hear this 

 time, I said, and puttting my fingers be- 

 tween my lips gave an old screecher of a 

 whistle. Then something hit me in the 

 back and I heard my wife say: 



"For heavens sake, Tom, what's the 

 matter with you. I thought you were go- 

 ing to Nantucket this morning. Here it 

 is 5 o'clock, and you haven't your grip 

 packed yet, and the train goes at 5:30!" 



