82 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



dead grass that it was scarcely discernible on the 

 ground-glass This meant that the grass must 

 be parted and the downy bed-clothes pushed 

 back, and I hesitated long and looked around 

 well before doing so. No; it would not do to 

 thus expose the eggs, and again I softly replaced 

 the down-covering and hoped that when the 

 bird returned upon her nest, she would show up 

 plainly enough. After making adjustments, I 

 attached a long string and laid it back along the 

 fence several yards; then I picked up the gun 

 and slipped away. 



The gun was not to be used on the owner of 

 the nest, if the kodak failed to score, but to be 

 directed toward her enemies, the crows. Andy 

 had assured me that a number of the black 

 rascals were sure to be around, and I figured 

 that as soon as one of them got his eye on the 

 kodak, he would most probably indulge his 

 bump of curiosity by going in close to investigate 

 and then most likely see thd nest which had 

 escaped him previously. Once seen, I knew 

 that it would mean an end to this nestful of 

 prospective ducklings, and I felt that to be di- 

 rectly accountable for such a thing would be a 

 crime. And crow doings shortly proved my ap- 



