I90 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



see that there was not a dry twig to snap beneath 

 his foot nor a faded leaf to rustle, he bent over the 

 finder of the camera. Yes, it was still in place, 

 pointing directly at the little brown bird. 



''Click!" went the shutter. 



At the sound the bird flew, so instantly that the 

 boy had a terrible moment of doubt as to whether 

 she had flown before the exposure or after. It 

 seemed sure, however, that it was the sound of the 

 shutter which had frightened the bird, and since 

 the stop had been put for an instantaneous pic- 

 ture, the picture must have been taken before the 

 bird flew. So, throwing a piece of oilskin over 

 the camera in case it should rain, Shan went back 

 to the cabin. 



Every day, after that, Shan returned to the 

 blind at the same hour. Little by little the 

 Wood Thrush became accustomed to the brush- 

 wood screen, though never once, in all the times 

 that Shan photographed her, did he see her with 

 her glance directed away from the suspicious spot. 



How long it would take the eggs to hatch, Shan 

 did not know. He knew that a Robin's eggs took 

 two weeks, and since the Wood Thrush belonged 

 to the same Order and Family as the Eobin, the 

 boy thought it probable that the hatching time 



