306 A BOOK-LOVER'S HOLIDAYS 



gull eats the eggs of the other two, especially 

 of the tern; as far as we know, all have the 

 same foes; yet the abundance of the birds is 

 in inverse ratio to the number of their eggs. 

 Of course, there is an explanation; but we 

 cannot even guess at it as yet. With this, as 

 with so many other scientific questions, all we 

 can say is, with Huxley, that we are not afraid 

 to announce that we do not know. 



The beautiful royal terns were common 

 enough, flying in the air and diving boldly 

 after little fish. We listened with interest to 

 their cry, which was a kind of creaking bleat. 

 We admired the silver of their plumage as they 

 flew overhead. But we did not come across 

 vast numbers of them assembled for breeding 

 until the fourth day. Then we found them on 

 an island on which Captain Sprinkle told us 

 he had never before found them, although both 

 skimmers and gulls had always nested on it. 

 The previous fall he had waged war with traps 

 against the coons, which, although there was 

 no fresh water, had begun to be plentiful on 

 the island. He had caught a number, two escap- 

 ing, one with the loss of a hind foot, and one 

 with the loss of a fore foot. The island was 

 seven miles long, curved, with occasional 

 stretches of salt marsh, and with reaches of 



