The third trap was also sprung, and the shrill, piping notes of
alarm which came to their ears when Bert stopped the wagon, told them
that they had made their first capture. Jumping quickly out of the
wagon the boys made their way into the bushes, and when they came
within sight of the trap they found that it was so full that the
little prisoners had scarcely room to turn about.
"Here's the first instalment of your hundred and fifty dollars,
Dave," cried Don. "We've got more than a dozen, I know!"
Having stopped up the ends of the trenches so that the quails could
not escape, Don thrust his arm through the opening in the top of the
trap and began passing out the birds to his brother and David, who
carried them to the wagon and put them into the coop. He counted them
as he took them out, and found that there were nearer two dozen than
one, twenty being the exact number. One, however, escaped from Bert,
who, through fear of injuring it, handled it too tenderly.
"Never mind," said Don, when his brother told him of the loss. "He'll
go off and join some other flock, so we are bound to catch him
anyhow. I call this a good beginning, don't you, Dave? It looks now
as though you were going to earn your money in spite of Lester and
Dan.
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