CHAPTER III 



THE BIRDS OF A NORTHERN LOCH 



" I "HE exact whereabouts of the loch 

 may remain a secret. Some natural- 

 ists and a few fishermen who go there 

 for the excellent trout fishing may 

 recognize it from my description, but 

 the egg-collector, who in most cases does 

 not care a straw for the welfare of the 

 birds, is not wanted there, and if he was 

 to go, would, as has happened before, 

 receive short shift from the sturdy 

 keepers. 



It is a large loch on a lonely and wild 

 island, away out in the direction of the 

 setting sun, beyond the rugged western 

 mountains of Scotland. I said it was a 

 large loch, but when the visitor sees it 



