16 EARLY <SPEING = 
tried more than once to repeat the picture, 
but without success ; the birds seem to regard 
the camera as a trap. In future I must con- 
ceal it carefully, in the orthodox way. 
*k *k ok *k 
The islands looked black and bare as we 
approached them, but experience had taught 
us not to turn back if the prospects were not 
of the brightest. For we knew that the 
islands were full of life, though this was not 
apparent at first sight. Muchof it, however, 
was still dormant, and not released from the 
grip of winter. But ‘ had not the time of the 
singing of birds come’? It was a quiet and 
somewhat misty morning and the first really 
warm day of the year. The sudden rise of 
temperature had drawn up the moisture 
from the soil, but the sun, all powerful as it 
is, was not able to dispel the haze. Still the 
light was good enough for the nature photo- 
graphs we sought. Scanning the scene before 
us, we noticed that the trees were leafless, 
and that the banks had not yet put on their 
spring coats of green. The only colours 
