CHAPTEE VI 



THE MURDEROUS CAT 



From that day on, Bull Adam was even more 

 interested in Shan's bird photography than the 

 boy himself. Though it was now late in the nest- 

 ing season, the old pot-hunter succeeded in find- 

 ing the nests of three birds, a Goldfinch, a Crested 

 Flycatcher, and a Kentucky Warbler. 



Not one of these, however, had nested in a place 

 suitable for photography. The Goldfinch, whose 

 nest was made mainly of moss, lined with thistle- 

 down, was in a tangle of bushes. As for the 

 Crested Flycatcher, the nest was, like most of 

 its kind, built in a hollow tree with a cast-off 

 snake's skin for luck, and could not be photo- 

 graphed without flashlight, which Shan did not 

 possess. As soon as the nestlings were hatched, 

 however, and able to perch — though unable to fly — 

 Shan took them out and perched them on a near- 

 by twig to have their portraits taken. The Ken- 

 tucky Warbler nestlings were nearly full grown 

 and though the boy took a few photos, they were 

 not especially satisfactory. 

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