only a short distance away when Mark came up. 
The nest was on the ground among a pile of rocks, 
each as large as a baseball; but it was made of 
grass and seaweed that formed a very soft bed 
for the three eggs. 
It was only a day or two after this that a seal 
hauled out on the big rock to dry off and take a 
nap in the warm sunshine. Hardheart made a 
great outcry at this, but the seal was used to gulls’ 
talk so he paid no attention to the noise and soon» 
fellasleep. Whether the seal had a bad dream, or 
simply rolled over when half asleep, no one will 
ever be able to tell; but in some manner he fell off 
the rock right down upon the nest, and that is the 
last there is to say about those three eggs. 
After this terrible accident Hardheart and his 
mate did a very queer thing for gulls to do. 
They built their nest in the top of a tree about 
fifteen feet from the ground, and as seals are 
never known to climb trees, the gulls no doubt 
considered themselves safe from further trouble. 
Here I have no doubt their young would have 
grown up in safety had not more trouble come 
to Hardheart. 
