“Then it will be your fault,” replied Egan, confidently. “If you will do good work after I bring them within range, we will have canvas-backs for dinner to-morrow. Now, Bogus, let’s see how smart you are.”
Egan had brought the chips with him in a game-bag. As he spoke, he took one of them out and tossed it into the water, whereupon Bogus jumped to his feet and skipped in after it. He seized the chip, tossed it into the air, caught it when it descended, and played with it with as much apparent delight as a cat plays with a ball of yarn; the visitors watching his antics with the greatest surprise.
“You have read of the curiosity exhibited by the antelope of the Western plains—how hunters have been known to decoy them within gun-shot by simply waving a colored handkerchief above the grass, have you not?” said Egan, by way of explanation. “Well, the canvas-back has just as much curiosity, as you can see for yourselves.”
The boys, whose attention had been fully occupied by the extraordinary performances of the dog, now turned their eyes toward the flock, and were astonished as well as gratified to observe that a few of them had left the main body and were coming slowly toward the shore. Even at that distance one could see that they were attracted by, and interested in, the actions of the dog. Presently, other ducks came out of the bed and joined them; then a second and larger body appeared, and, what was very surprising to the visitors, they betrayed the greatest excitement. They would sit up in the water, sustaining themselves by the help of their wings, and then settle down and swim swiftly about, performing the most intricate maneuvres.
“Easy, boys,” whispered Egan, as Curtis raised his head to obtain a better view of the approaching flock. “If you want to get a shot, you must not show so much as an inch of the top of your hat. They’ve got sharp eyes; and that is what makes them so easy to toll. If they were not constantly on the watch, they would not have seen the dog.”
When Bogus grew tired of playing with the first chip Egan threw out to him, the boy tossed him another. The intelligent and well-trained animal did not act as though he saw the ducks at all; but it was evident that he knew they were coming, for the nearer they approached the shore the more energetically he played. He never uttered the faintest whimper, but kept silently to his work; and the ducks, growing bolder as their number increased, approached with more rapidity and confidence, showing by their actions the liveliest curiosity.