86 Forest Birds. 
ments for some time, when suddenly our companion 
—a young retriever—rushed after it. We called 
him back in vain, and as soon as the Waterhen 
discovered that it was being pursued, it took to 
flight. So straight and low did it fly that as it 
reached the water its legs, which were hanging 
down, trailed along the surface, leaving a track of 
bubbles. The bird did not fly far, but soon dropped 
into the water, and when the retriever saw this he, 
too, jumped in, and then began a race between dog 
and bird, the one for enjoyment, the other for life. 
The Waterhen resorted to every conceivable 
artifice in its attempt to elude its persistent pursuer. 
It dived and swam under water, coming up at the 
most unexpected spots, and sometimes only just 
putting its head out of the water to take a breath 
of air, it dived down again; then, half sinking, it 
swam along, with only its head and neck and the top 
of its back above the water, hoping thus to escape 
notice, but in vain, for the dog gradually got nearer 
and nearer to its prey. 
At length, as a last resource, the plucky little bird 
ran into a clump of reeds, out of which it refused 
to be driven. But the retriever’s blood was up, 
and he was not to be so easily beaten. Disappear- 
ing into the bed of reeds, he began to make a 
systematic hunt for his quarry, and presently a 
