“Why, when the ducks gather in large flocks and sit on the water, either during the day-time or at night, they are said to ‘bed’ or ‘bunch.’ When a market-shooter finds one of these beds in the bay, he watches it to see that it does not break up, and when darkness comes to conceal his movements, he goes out and shoots into it. He sometimes gets as many as eighty ducks at a single discharge of his blunderbuss.”
“How large a load does that blunderbuss carry?”
“Half a pound of powder and two pounds of shot.”
“Good gracious!” exclaimed Don. “How heavy is it?”
“The one I saw weighed a hundred and sixty pounds,” replied Egan. “It was ten feet long.”
“There ought to be a law prohibiting the use of such weapons,” said Don, indignantly.
“There is a law which says that you not only shall not use them, but that you must not have them in your possession,” answered Egan. “If you violate that law, you render yourself liable to a fine of two hundred dollars or imprisonment; but who is there about here who is going to complain of you?”
“Why, the men who own these shores,” replied Don.
“They dare not do it,” said Egan.
“Well, I would do it if I lived here,” declared Don, with a good deal of earnestness.