or Mrs. Quack or some of
their relatives. So he was very watchful as he drew near the Big
River, for he had learned that it was dangerous to pass too near a
hunter with a terrible gun. More than once he had been shot at. But
he had learned by these experiences. Oh, yes, Blacky had
learned. For one thing, he had learned to know a gun when he saw
it. For another thing, he had learned just how far away one of these
dreadful guns could be and still hurt the one it was pointed at, and
to always keep just a little farther away. Also he had learned that
a man or boy without a terrible gun is quite harmless, and he had
learned that hunters with terrible guns are tricky and sometimes
hide from those they seek to kill, so that in the dreadful hunting
season it is best to look sharply before approaching any place.
On this afternoon, as he drew near the Big River, he saw a man who
seemed to be very busy on the shore of the Big River, at a place
where wild rice and rushes grew for some distance out in the water,
for just there it was shallow far out from the shore. Blacky looked
sharply for a terrible gun. But the man had none with him and
therefore was not to be feared. Blacky boldly drew near until he was
able to see what the man was doing.
Then Blacky's eyes stretched their widest and he almost cawed right
out with surprise. The man was taking yellow corn from a bag, a
handful at a time, and throwing it out in the water.
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