“Wait till they come round the next time, and I’ll show you—so look out,” said Joe.
“I’ll not look—there’s no occasion for my seeing—I’m not after a muskrat,” responded Sneak, stripping the skin from the animal, and laughing at his own remark. When the ducks came round again, Joe fired, and sure enough one of them fell—descending in a curve which brought it directly on Sneak’s cap, knocking it over his eyes.
“Dod rot it! hands off, or I’ll walk into you!” exclaimed Sneak, rising up in a hostile attitude.
“Good! that’s tit for tat,” cried Joe, laughing, as he loaded his gun.
“You didn’t do it a purpose,” said Sneak, “nor I won’t jump into the water nother.”
“Yes I did!” continued Joe, much pleased at the occurrence.
“You didn’t do any sich thing—or we’d have to fight; but nobody could do sich a thing only by accident. You’d better load your gun, and be ready by the time the next comes,” added Sneak, again tearing asunder the panther’s skin.
“I thought I had loaded,” said Joe, forgetting he had performed that operation, and depositing another charge in his old musket.
Presently Glenn’s gun was heard, and in a few minutes an immense flock of geese and ducks, mingled together, flew over the bushes and covered the face of the lake. Joe very deliberately fired in the midst of them, and the rebound of his gun throwing him against Sneak, who was still in a stooping posture, they both fell to the ground.
“I did that on purpose, I’ll take my oath—I knew you had put in two loads,” said Sneak, rising up.