154 BIRD-HUNTING 



climbed to one of the nests to see what there was. 

 And a nasty climb it was in my wet clothes. The 

 boat plunged and rolled in the heavy sea which 

 surged among the trees, while the trunks were 

 perfectly slimy with moisture. To add to my 

 difficulties, the small branches were very rotten, 

 and broke off short in my hands as I ascended one 

 after the other. Djouraschkovitch was in a great 

 fright, shouting frantically, ' Monsieur, descendez- 

 vous, je vous prie ; les ramiers sont trop faibles 

 pour vous ; vous tomberez,' &c, &c. 



However, I got up all right, only to find young 

 birds, as I expected, and descended safely, though 

 stepping into the plunging boat from the slippery 

 trunk was no easy job, as the men were unable to 

 bring it in very close ; though even if I had gone 

 overboard — as I fully expected to do — I could not 

 have been any wetter than I was already. I was 

 glad to find myself once more inside the boat, 

 uncomfortable as it was, and we proceeded on our 

 way, more or less dispirited by this fresh dis- 

 appointment. 



It was now necessary to cross an open arm of the 

 lake exposed to the full force of the wind. Luckily 

 both wind and rain had by now somewhat abated ; 

 and after a hard pull, during which the waves 

 frequently broke over us, half-filling the boat, we 

 finally arrived at a village on the Montenegrin side. 



