"What shall we try them at first?" said Dick.
"I was thinking that the best way would be to take the yacht and coast about the reeds, and try them first at the water-hens and coots. I am so afraid of someone shooting them if we take them into the meadows. If we cannot manage them with the yacht on the water, we will take them on the drained marshes," answered Frank.
"I hope they will not disappoint us," said Jimmy, "for they have given us a great deal of trouble to train."
"They have had very little to eat this morning, so I think they will fly at anything we show them, but it will be a sell if we lose them the very first try."
There was just a light breeze on the broad, which enabled them to sail quietly about. Frank took the helm, for sailing was to him the greatest of all enjoyments, and Dick and Jimmy stood in the bows, Dick with a hawk on his wrist, ready to be flown as soon as they caught sight of anything worth flying at. Frank steered the Swan so that she just brushed along the reeds, which were brown and dry, and had thinned fast under the keen October breezes.
"There is a water-hen in the reeds, just before us," said Jimmy. "Drive the yacht a little further in."
Frank did so, and the water-hen flew out over the broad, her legs dipping in the water.
"Let her have a little law," cried Frank. "Now then!"