THE FEATHER MAN 233 



small birds, they serve to close the gap which 

 would otherwise be left between the body and the 

 main part of the wing. In long-armed, or long- 

 winged birds, such as the Albatross, the tertiaries 

 play an important part. Now," he continued, 

 **have you ever looked closely at a feather?" 



Shan thought for a moment. 



'*Yes," he said, doubtfully; ''when I was quite 

 a little chap, Bull gave me some Wild Turkey 

 feathers to stick in my hair, like the Indians did, 

 and though I tried to be careful with them, they 

 soon got ragged. I was afraid Bull would be 

 angry and I tried to stick them together so that 

 the feathers would look smooth again, but they 

 wouldn't stick." 



The Feather Man held out to the boy a feather 

 that lay on the leveled log. 



''Feel that carefully and see if you can notice 

 any glue?" 



"No," said Shan, first feeling it between his 

 fingers, and then, following his invariable custom, 

 putting it in his mouth. 



"But, if you take the side of the feather — not 

 the quill — and pull it a little, what happens ? ' ' 



"It breaks away," said the boy, suiting the ac- 

 tion to the word. 



