. Wild Spain ... records of sport with rifle, rod, and gun, natural history and exploration . ir, yet, somehow, it took bothbarrels ere the leader collapsed. Shot after shot at whatappeared a fatal range failed to stop them dean, and Idecided to let the next come in even nearer. This timeonly three came drifting down. They passed within shot,l)ut I refrained; wheeled round the pool, and headedstraight in ; there was no mistake this time—the geese were 390 WILD SPAIN. not twenty yards off, and two of the three fell breathed more freely now ; and let the geese come in to arange that
. Wild Spain ... records of sport with rifle, rod, and gun, natural history and exploration . ir, yet, somehow, it took bothbarrels ere the leader collapsed. Shot after shot at whatappeared a fatal range failed to stop them dean, and Idecided to let the next come in even nearer. This timeonly three came drifting down. They passed within shot,l)ut I refrained; wheeled round the pool, and headedstraight in ; there was no mistake this time—the geese were 390 WILD SPAIN. not twenty yards off, and two of the three fell breathed more freely now ; and let the geese come in to arange that for any other fowl would be too near, holdmg eventhen well forward, and sundry heavy thuds on the darken-ing waters attested the success of these waiting tactics, andregistered the death of another greylag or latter came in singly, or in twos and threes, andare distinguishable by their harsher note and rathersmaller size; the greylags average eight pounds, someold ganders turning the scale at ten. Every minute itbecame more difficult to see; night was closing in but with it came more and more geese. The rattle of gun-shots and rustling of strong pinions was incessant—hardlyhad one gone down than another flight swept in. At lastthe geese came silently ; the call-note which during day-light announced their approach was now no longer uttered,and they drifted so fast on to the water that one onlybecame aware of their arrival by the heavy ploughingsplash as they alighted. Presently only those that camelow against the dying after-glow in the west could be seenat all, and after a shot one had to listen for the splashthat bespoke a kill. Gunshots now became fewer, a mere WILDFOWLING IN THE WILDERNESS. 391 dropping fire, and in a few minutes more even this shootingat ghosts became no longer possible. Then came thesplashing of horses, and I knew that Caraballo was coming I to look for me, and a good line he took in the dark and featureless morass. Half an ho
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