line showed itself again; the draining had begun even here.

"The guns might as well have been left at home," said Larry, with a rueful look.

"We can have a good walk over the old ground, anyway," said Denzil. As they tramped over the marsh the hares rushed away at their approach unmolested. It was always an understood thing that permission to shoot the fowl did not include these animals.

There were, after all, plenty of fowl, but they were high up and out of reach. From the arm of the sea, that ran close by, could be heard the report of duck-guns from the vessels sailing there: all boats carried a gun, and when a bird dropped, off shot the skiff to pick it up. Many of these boats in the course of a trip of twenty miles or more, sailing close in shore, would get enough fowl to victual their crew; for, as the birds were disturbed on the flats, they made at once for the tide.

At times, it is true, no fowl were shot either from the shore or from the boats, because some days they will not rest anywhere, but rush from the Kent side to the Essex shore and back again, all the time; not