El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-08
The Grey Gang
By F. St. Mars.

-O-O-H-Pi' The deep, thick, rever-
berating discharge, almost like
II the report Of a cannon, thuu-
dered out across the country, breaking
most unexpectedly the lonely silence Of
the windswept Watery waste.
The big flock Of wild duck which
had been peacefully resting on the
surface of the rising tide, rose with
a terrified rush OF wings till they were
no more than a handful of specks high
in the windy sky. But they had leIt
some of their number behlnd5 Wnere5
amidst terrible splashing and Outcries
on the water, some is wild duck were
floating dead and wounded. The long
green, cigar shaped fowling punt, with
the heavy smoke slowly floating away
from the long muzzle of the great
swivel gun peering out over the bows,
suddenly sprouted man, who rose and
padded up swiftly to secure the Grip
pies"
No sooner did the thunder Of the
gun burst upon the stiffness than there
appeared on the horizon a black speck,
hurrying towards the report large
bird of some sort.
As the man hastily padded about,
chasing the wounded duck, a harsh
grating, "Craari Craar! sounded out
of the sky. 1t came from the bird
which tapped slowly up on heavy
beating wings, and settled about
hundred yards off on the low SeaWall.
One saw then that he was q crOW-nOt
a rock, mind, for the two are often
confused. He was also different from
an ordinary black crow, although this
crows character was black enough. He
looked a very impudent, sloVenly OLD
rogue, too, as he sat bumped up on the
sea bank, watching that man chasing
and polishing off crippled duck IN the
wind and the rain.
At last the man went, helped on MS
way by a parting "Craar! .Craar-'
Then the old crew flew heavily along
the bank and settled on the shore at a
spot where the drainage from the
marsh behind ran through a kind OF
water gate out to the estuary Here
he inspected a nook among the green
and rOtting timber, dabbled in his muir
derOus long, strong beak, and taking
hold of something inside which 1lut-
tered, set himself back on his tail and
hauled. Suddenly the creature within
gave way, and out tumbled a 1lutterlng
wild duck, so suddenly that the crow
fell over on his back and lay kicking.
Away went the duck, wounded, half
flying, half swimming, but the
wounded duck does not live that can
evade gray crow. The old crow
caught him up, and hammering out his
skull, tOWed him back. to shore.
There was good reason for the crow
hurry to get the meal over then. He
had not been there feasting 10 seconds
before one Of the big, silvery herring
gulls, who are perpetually beating up
and down the shore like sentinels,
came sailing along, saw him. and
swerved down.
"Craari' grated the old crow. and
met the cruel eye of the big pirate OF
the sea for a moment unflinchingly.
The heart of the gun failed him, and
he swung away
Furiously then the crow hammered
at his meal. using his beak Just like
q pickax, still his quick eye spotted
line of half a dozen black dots follow
ing each other and coming towards
him along the shOreline. Then he
knew it was all up. They were his
own folk, and they were not afraid.
In five minutes more he was the fight
ing center of a fighting heap of ras-
calIy crows, and in five minutes more
they were dispersed again, sitting
about cleaning their beaks on stones
The wild duck had gone. Only, there
was the complete skin of that wild
duck turned very neatly and precisely
inside out. Gray crows always turn
the skins Of their prey inside out like
that.
As there were no trees for miles, the
old crow was forced to rOOst on the
ground. He did not care for that