He could n't understand why a man should throw good corn among the rushes and wild rice in the water , and because he could n't understand , he at once began to suspect that it was for no good purpose . When the man left in a boat , Blacky slowly flew over the rushes where the man had thrown the corn , and presently his sharp eyes made a discovery that caused him to exclaim right out . What was it Blacky had discovered ? Only a few feathers . No one with eyes less sharp than Blacky 's would have noticed them . And few would have given them a thought if they had noticed them . But Blacky knew right away that those were feathers from a Duck . He knew that a Duck , or perhaps a flock of Ducks , had been resting or feeding in there among those rushes , and that in moving about they had left those two or three downy feathers . `` Ha ! '' exclaimed Blacky . `` Mr. and Mrs. Quack or some of their relatives have been here . It is just the kind of a place Ducks like . Also some Ducks like corn . If they should come back here and find this corn , they would have a feast , and they would be sure to come again . That man who scattered the corn here did n't have a terrible gun , but that does n't mean that he is n't a hunter . He may come back again , and then he may have a terrible gun . I 'm suspicious of that man . I am so . I believe he put that corn here for Ducks and I do n't believe he did it out of the kindness of his heart . If it was Farmer Brown 's boy I would know that all is well ; that he was thinking of hungry Ducks , with few places where they can feed in safety , as they make the long journey from the Far North to the Sunny South .
But it was n't Farmer XXXXX 's boy .
Blacky Brown Duck eyes feast heart hunter left places right