18 Front All Sources. 



THE PIRATE OF THE LAGOON. 

 In a valley of the Murrumbidgee there is a sheltered lag'oon, whirh 

 seems to have been specially designed by Nature for a breeding-place 

 for the wild. It is onlya short sheet of water, but it has two islands 

 which ar's gravelly and almost entirely concealed by masses of flowing 

 wattle foliage and other indigenous shrubs ; while all around and over- 

 head spreading gums, which suggest that they have been brooding und 

 whispering over the crystal waters here for countless centuries, ensure 

 privacy, secrecy, and sanctuary for all the wild creatures who would 

 take advantage of it ; and scores of them di:l. Many families of birds 

 made this sweet retreat — still apparently undiscovered of predatory mankind - 

 their permanent home ; others came and went after the manner of the 

 human tourist. Among the former were a pair of exquisitely coloured 

 kingfishers, whose brilliant, steely-blue plumage flashed in the sunshine 

 like tongues of flame, as they darted from a dry branch to the glassy 

 face of the waters, and then rose high into the air with the shrill 

 plaintive note which with this bird may express either victory or de« 

 feat ; a score or more of Wood and Black Duck and Mountain Teal ; 

 a staid family of Magpie Larks, which built their cosy mud nests on 

 limbs hanging over the pools a couple of Black and White Fantails ; and 

 a few of the fantastic Coot-tribe. Many other birds passing high over 

 the favoured spot were attracted to it. After a circle or two in the air, 

 to make sure that this was not an artful decoy, and that no enemy 

 lurked in the inviting cover which fringed the lagoon, they would alight 

 and soon make themselves at home. At nightfall they would probably 

 be there still, and acting as if they had no intention of leaving sui h 

 a delectable home. During the night, as likely as not, the primitive 

 silence which reigned would be pierced by shrill cries of terror— the 

 cries which express the panic created by the attack of a 

 mysterious and unidentifiable enemy — and in the morning the aew-corniMs 

 would have have vanished beyond the ken of that sylvan community. Tha' 

 there was some unknown terror associated with the water was indicated 

 by th.; strange conduct of the permanent residents towards night. If on 

 the water they would appear to be uneasy, alert, and apprehensive ol 

 some threatened dang*;! noi <!carl) manifested. After dark they wouli 

 with one accord take to the land, and remain out of the water all night. One 

 day, the father kingfisher, on the hunt for food for his family, was poised 

 on a high limb with his eye.s fixed intently on the surface of the lagoon, 

 intent and ready to shoot like a blue streak of light on to any unwary 

 creature wihch ventured too near the top. The kingfisher is all compact- 

 ness of form and brilli.mcy of colour and action — being one of Xatiir;'-- 

 most harmonius products — and is only fearless when on the wing. Becausf 

 of this trait, the bird is occasionally over venturesome. In this case the 

 kingfisher detected some movement where a little wood floated, and 

 descended like a fireball. Ho touched the water, apparently missed his 

 intended imcv. h.ilanccd him, elf for a 6:cond to get a better view, ami then 



