THE ROBBERS OF THE FALLS 



the back lens of the doublet and used the single front 

 member, of eighteen inches focus, which gave a good 

 large image of the nest even from that distance. When 

 it was focused and everything ready I tied the end of 

 the spool of strong black linen thread to the shutter, 

 dropped the spool to the ground, set the shutter, and 

 then we climbed carefully down, so as not to pull the 

 thread and spoil the plate. 



The next thing was to find a good hiding place from 

 which to watch for the return of the hawk. About a 

 gunshot away, up the hill, a large chestnut tree had 

 fallen, and under it seemed a good chance to hide. 

 Ned held the thread so the shutter would not be re- 

 leased, while I further unwound it and laid it out 

 carefully, to avoid tangling, to the old trunk. Crawling 

 in under, I called Ned, and he hurried up and came in 

 too. From a peek hole I could just see the nest through 

 the leaves and branches. The only thing to do now 

 was to watch when the hawk came back to the nest, 

 and then pull the thread carefully so as not to jar the 

 camera while the shutter opened for the required half 

 second. The bellows were so long that in the woods 

 this was none too much, even with the lens at full 

 opening. 



We lay perfectly still and listened to the hawk 

 music. Both of the pair were flying around and 

 screaming away like good ones. It seemed as though 

 they surely would stop in a few minutes and get to work 

 at housekeeping again, but they kept right at it. In 



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