f water which a hundred yards further
opened out into a broad half a mile long and four or five hundred yards
wide. Beyond moving slowly away as the coracle approached them, the
water-fowl paid but little heed to its appearance.

The boy paddled to the end of the broad, whence a passage, through
which flowed a stream so sluggish that its current could scarce be
detected, led into the next sheet of water. Across the entrance to this
passage floated some bundles of light rushes. These the boy drew out
one by one. Attached to each was a piece of cord which, being pulled
upon, brought to the surface a large cage, constructed somewhat on the
plan of a modern eel or lobster pot. They were baited by pieces of dead
fish, and from them the boy extracted half a score of eels and as many
fish of different kinds.

"Not a bad haul," he said as he lowered the cages to the bottom again.
"Now let us see what we have got in our pen."

He paddled a short way along the broad to a point where a little lane
of water ran up through the rushes. This narrowed rapidly and the lad
got out from his boat into the water, as the coracle could proceed no
further between the lines of rushes. The water was knee-deep and the
bottom soft and oozy. At the end of the creek it narrowed until the
rushes were but a foot apart. They were bent over here, as it would
seem to a superficial observer naturally; but a close examination would
show that those facing each other were tied together where they crossed
at a distance of a couple of feet above the water, forming a sort of
tunnel. Two feet farther on this ceased, and the rushes were succeeded
by lines of strong osier withies, an inch or two apart, arched over and
fastened together. At this point was a sort of hanging door formed of
rushes backed with osiers, and so arranged that at the slightest push
from without the door lifted and enabled a wild-fowl to pass under, but
dropping behind it prevented its exit. The osier tunnel widened out to
a sort of inverted basket three feet in diameter.

On the surface of the creek floated some grain which had been scattered
there the evening before as a bait. The lad left the creek before he
got to the narrower part, and, making a small circuit in the swamp,
came down upon the pen.

"Good!" he said, "I am in luck to-day; here are three fine ducks."

Bending the yielding osiers aside, he drew out the ducks one by one,
wrung their necks, and passing their heads throug