The Muzzles

　　Xu Quangxing

　　Yang had just been sent back to his former post, Chief of the Provincial Building Material Bureau.

　　Later one afternoon he was walking with Secretary Li, hunting beside the lake where wormwood grew abundantly among scattered reeds. There were seemingly endless green mountain ranges stretching into thin mist, and wild geese silhouetted against the glow of the setting sun. An autumn stream ruffled by the west wind, and the lines of wild geese set against the background of distant mountains embracing the sinking sun, harmoniously merged to enhance the joy of the hunters.

　　"Quack!” came the cry o# a startled water bird. Bureau Chief Yang took the brand-new hunting gun from Secretary L and caressed it with affection. It was a double-barreled shotgun with a shining blue body and a pair of chilling black muzzles. He had never held such a fine weapon, not even in those days of

　　guerrilla warfare thirty years before.

　　"Quack! Quack!" Out fluttered into the air several grey-feathered ducks with white necks and yellow webbed feet. The commune hunters stole to the lakeside, their hounds at their heels. Several muzzles at once aimed at the fleeing birds in the air.

　　"Bang!" Old Yang fired. A wisp of white smoke dispersed to reveal a duck falling from the sky like a stringless kite.

　　"You've scored a hit! Chief Yang, you did deserve to be called the crackshot in the guerrilla warfare days!" Secretary Li jumped and shouted with joy like a child and rushed to pick up the shot bird.

　　Old Yang chuckled, patted the gun and said, “Excellent shotgun! Excellent indeed!"

　　As they were walking to the waiting black car, Old Yang remarked, “That fellow Wang recommended a fairly good spot to us for hunting.”

　　Seizing the opportunity, Secretary Li cut in probingly, “He used to be your subordinate, didn't he? This time Ws asked you to grant him 50 tons of building material . . .

　　槍口

　　徐光興

　　官復原職的N省建材局楊局長和李秘書，走在篙草叢生、蘆荻疏落的湖邊。

　　“煙中列峋青無數(shù)，雁背夕陽紅欲暮。”西風，秋水，雁陣，銜著落日的遠山，交融在一起，更增添打獵者的無限興致。

　　“嘎——”傳來一聲水禽被驚動的鳴叫。楊局長從李秘書手里接過一支嶄新的獵槍，愛撫地摸了一下。它是雙筒槍管，槍身瓦藍錚亮，槍口黑黝黝的，有一股逼人的寒氣。貨三十多年前他打游擊時，也沒拿到過這樣的槍。

　　“吱嘎——嘎呷”，從附近湖面的荷梗殘葦中，竄出幾只白頸黃蹼、羽毛灰麻麻的水鴨子，在空中撲騰亂飛，驚悸聲聲。趕著獵狗的捕獵社員，也悄悄地摸到這兒。

　　好幾支獵槍的槍口，同時瞄準了這些空中獵物。

　　“砰——”老楊開槍了。一縷白煙消散，一只水鴨子像斷線的風箏，從半空中墜下。

　　“打中嘍，打中嘍!楊局長，你真不愧是當年游擊隊里的神槍手。”李秘書像個孩子似的跳著嚷著，奔過去撿獵獲物。

　　老楊只是“嘿嘿”笑了幾聲，拍著槍連聲說：“好槍，好槍!”

　　他倆朝熄了引擎的黑色小轎車走去。老楊說：“老王這家伙，介紹的地點還蠻不錯呢�！�

　　李秘書試探地湊上前去說：“他是您的老部下嘛。這次他請您批50噸建材物資給他……”