Leaving
My Pony At A Good Distance, I Got Down Flat On The Ground And Began My
Long Laborious Crawl, And Got Within Twenty-Five Yards Of The Flock.
Never Had I Had Such A Chance Before!
As I peeped through the grass
and herbage I imagined all sorts of delightful things - my brother far
away vainly firing long shots at the wary geese, and his return and
disgust at the sight of my heap of noble rosy-bills, all obtained near
home at one shot!
Then I fired just as the birds, catching sight of my cap, raised their
long necks in alarm. Bang! Up they rose with a noise of wings, leaving
not one behind! Vainly I watched the flock, thinking that some of the
birds I must have hit would soon be seen to waver in their course and
then drop to earth. But none wavered or fell. I went home as much
puzzled as disappointed. Late in the day my brother returned with one
upland goose and three or four ducks, and inquired if I had had any
luck. I told him my sad story, whereupon he burst out laughing and
informed me that he had taken care to draw the shot from my gun before
going out. He was up to my little tricks, he said; he had seen what I
had done, and was not going to allow me to waste the little shot we
had left!
Our duck-shooting was carried on under difficulties during those days.
We searched for ammunition at all the houses for some leagues around,
and at one house we found and purchased a quantity of exceedingly
coarse gunpowder, with grain almost the size of canary-seed.
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