i6 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



Bull, ''only jest noticed it from below the ridge, 

 maybe a quarter of a mile off." 



*'Do you suppose there are eggs there I" 



" 'Bout the season for 'em, ain't it? Fish- 

 Hawks nest early. An' I saw one o' the birds 

 snoopin' 'round. Yo' can always have a look an' 

 find out. It's a right smart ways from here, 

 though. Yo'll have to go down by boat." 



''Are you headed that way soon, Bull?" the boy 

 asked, anxiously. 



"Goin' down there to-morrow," the pot-hunter 

 answered, "that's why I'm tellin' yo' about it. 

 I'm runnin' clear down to the Sound, but, if yo' 

 want to, I'll drop yo' on the bank near the ridge 

 an' pick yo' up again on my w^ay back." 



"That'll be fine, it'll give me nearly all day," 

 said Shan; "I sure ought to be able to get the 

 eggs in that time, if there are any. ' ' 



It was scarcely daylight the next morning, when 

 the sound of his uncle stirring about in the cabin 

 brought Shan out of his palmetto-leaf bed with 

 a rush. Fetching wood and water was his job. 

 Taking the wooden bucket, he hurried to the shal- 

 low well, about fifty yards from the door of the 

 cabin, filled the pail quickly and hurried back. 

 Next, he piled beside the stove a small heap of 



