ndred and first
shot what should I see before me but a flock of these delicate birds
floating upon the placid waters of the bay!"

"Was this the Bay of Biscay, Baron?" queried Columbus, with a covert
smile at Ptolemy.

"I counted them," said the Baron, ignoring the question, "and there were
just sixty-eight. 'Here's a chance for the record, Baron,' said I to
myself, and then I made ready to shoot them. Imagine my dismay,
gentlemen, when I discovered that while I had plenty of powder left I had
used up all my bullets. Now, as you may imagine, to a man with no
bullets at hand, the sight of sixty-eight fat canvas-backs is hardly
encouraging, but I was resolved to have every one of those birds; the
question was, how shall I do it? I never can think on water, so I
paddled quietly ashore and began to reflect. As I lay there deep in
thought, I saw lying upon the beach before me a superb oyster, and as
reflection makes me hungry I seized upon the bivalve and swallowed him.
As he went down something stuck in my throat, and, extricating it, what
should it prove to be but a pearl of surpassing beauty. My first thought
was to be content with my day's find. A pearl worth thousands surely was
enough to satisfy the most ardent lover of sport; but on looking up I saw
those ducks still paddling contentedly about, and I could not bring
myself to give them up. Suddenly the idea came, the pearl is as large as
a bullet, and fully as round. Why not use it? Then, as thoughts come to
me in shoals, I next reflected, 'Ah--but this is only one bullet as
against sixty-eight birds:' immediately a third thought came, 'why not
shoot them all with a single bullet? It is possible, though not
probable.' I snatched out a pad of paper and a pencil, made a rapid
calculation based on the doctrine of chances, and proved to my own
satisfaction that at some time or another within the following two weeks
those birds would doubtless be sitting in a straight line and paddling
about, Indian file, for an instant. I resolved to await that instant. I
loaded my gun with the pearl and a sufficient quantity of powder to send
the charge through every one of the ducks if, perchance, the first duck
were properly hit. To pass over wearisome details, let me say that it
happened just as I expected. I had one week and six days to wait, but
finally the critical moment came. It was at midnight, but fortunately
the moon was at the full, and I could see as plainl