The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-22

save broad unbroken eXpanse Of surface where
| the hunter is hidden All that the hunter need do
Is 70 Keep his head down until the target is fairly
do That much II he were not he would not be a
| market. hunter; he would DO dead from starva-
| ton. II s a peculiar knack possessed by these
| peoplc-n knack that comes only with long ptac-
tce-, that they are able 10 Judge with accuracy
| the distance Of bird merely by the sound OF lis
wings. The touslcd head appears above tho
! rim Of the pot only when the quarry is inside of
| MY yards distance and certain 10 be twenty yards
nearer before It's able to check or swcrvc its flight
! The true mnr.ct hunter never shoots at a duck
on the water or IN the air when i is beyond thirty
yards Indeed the ability TO Judge distance by
sprcies OF intuition is NE mark of The good shot,
| whether he shoot for the market or the tables Of
| his trends
| I he man who goes to John Story's little hotel
down by tho edge Of the river these days will
| see only lot Of bronze featured men, sitting
| ABOUT the office stove each with a short pipe be-
| tween his teeth and maybe n sleeping retriever
lying within touch Of his hand. They are bankers,
merchants, LAWYERS aud ministers, away from
the city for q lutte while. one may have helped
"a break the Letter corner IN wheat another may
have invented q highly explosive shell another
may be- one whose lnowl ledge II tho law is known
from one side Of the lruu h. the other But
The Listener will hear them trlk only of guns and
ducks unhl bedtime unless mayhap tac con-
y"r@iIon hHs turned for a moment On guns and
dogs II the visitor rises while stu The black
dark Is hanging, cats his pain Breakfast hy
GhllnlrhEhL me- hiS pipe ana walks down to
ihr river near by hc win Sc" a dozen or two IT
e. 'orcl boat bound w or down the river as tie
Let hn stand li,uc longer and in the cas,
a WIN iiElt crrrps nnd ~" ,nr just sc his hand
II II is held hctwccn his eyes aud the sky \
moment later aud the eastern wnuncss broadcns
Hank Through the keen air hums n ,rcnor
q wings # slvcrs unsteady and "a oddly pnst
Inc GaLer knows that somewhere within fifty
EEM , e. Of hin has spun by black mass Of teal
Air seems stirred b" the passing and chill brcc2o
lifts his hair under his hat Il is not a btce2o
wild thing In all the world has whirlcd myster
louslE by him II is growing brighter in tho
long ~" Of geese should hunk by highly, one
might catch glimmcr Of them against the sky.
upa red flash and dies instantly. Room I}oolu'
\ man nearer at hnud has caught sight of the
PIN tails which are not flying punched were
n" teal but nrc strung into lin" possibly seventy
five Yards in length II the rnr is strained one
may fancy that he hears the rcsullaat splashcs
7 hose last two shots seem b. have been the signal
for a grand rush up and down the liver The
air is tT"nul"us with the rushing II the rinions.
:, Slow 9hHyc ne ,nt horiinp line OF fire shows
bauN is able t" notice the difference in the flights
and formations II the fowl IS h" stands in
than he hnow@ they bend Ch as they near him
and pass exactly ont Of runshot with knowledge
The stream scfnmbo " the T mNnarc S S" dnapscd
water hens and he'll divers From the lines
q the water chicken and III" short sharp snaTl
Of the miniature heron. Disturbed by The noise
q tn" guns blue hittcrn rises nwkwardy from
tn" reeds. drops his long legs behind him, mounts
upward and ever upward in circles while from his
awkward neck drops now and then his hoarsc
sulien cry uf alarm
II is o'clock by this time and tho morning
fight Is ended. Host Story is sitting in his Office
with his feet on the stove. burning good lea Their
and whiting for the people 10 come in and tell
what was done. To each Of them he will say
the score Is handed in:
NV, My That's the record, suh. that's
the record
Story is a sympathlcrs with the prowcss 81
his guests. and II is not his business unduly to
cNat the horn ut one guest to the prejudice OF
the horn of another guest The mon come troop
ing in and will lie about the hotel until 10 o'clock
ty that time the sun being a little warm though
II is near November, the pin tails will he feeding
in the rice ana the business Of walking them up
and irving the leepnc shot will begin The
hunters have had sportsmanlikc and thoroughly
enjoyable time but perhaps of them all tho man
who stood on the bank md heard the teal whrl
hv and watched the east palc and saw the red
fash Of the first gun while the rice and the reeds
sh!vcrcd In sympathy with the pain and fright
Of the birds had the most fun