42 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



ance. The Fish-Hawks would not leave their nest 

 to the mercy of the intruder, and Shan could not 

 get down, even if he had any intention of giving 

 up the fight. 



Dinner-time came, but there was no dinner for 

 Shan. Neither was there any dinner for the Fish- 

 Hawks. The midday sun began to beat on the 

 boy's brains, for he had left his straw hat on the 

 ground with his dinner, and, though it was spring- 

 time, the sun is hot in North Carolina. 



The long afternoon hours passed slowly by. 

 The boy watched the birds, and the birds watched 

 the boy. There was but one way of escape for 

 Shan, and that was to pull the nest to pieces, bit 

 by bit, and so make a clear way to the upper 

 crotch of the tree. Shan would not go without the 

 eggs, though, and he knew that the moment he 

 picked one of them up, both Fish-Hawks would 

 attack him at once so viciously that he would be 

 unable to defend himself. 



The welcome evening drew near and soon, in the 

 distance, Shan heard the call of the Scarlet Tana- 

 ger, repeated three times: 



' ' Chip-cherr ! Chip-cherr ! Chip-cherr ! ' ' 



That meant Bull — and rescue. He repeated the 

 call and, a quarter of an hour later, the pot-hunter, 



