128 In Touch with Nature. 



and place. The sobering thought that these birds 

 were dealing death to myriads of unseen insects 

 does not intrude. 



It is well to be without a settled purpose if, 

 being baffled in that, we are stranded and helpless. 

 I turned from the river's bank to the river's bed, 

 hoping to see and recognize some, at least, of the 

 many fishes found here. In this I failed. All 

 were in too great haste to reach some distant 

 point, and the occasional dark flash or silvery 

 glitter may have been a herring or a perch. Not 

 even the minnows tarried within range, and the 

 curious darters that rest on the sand jerked 

 themselves into new positions or quite burrowed 

 under flat pebbles whenever I moved my head for 

 a better view. At last a puff of wind half turned 

 the drifting boat, and a little company of these 

 darters was brought to view. I had not to move 

 to see each one, and, very conveniently, they did 

 not stir. These fish cannot take a leisurely stroll 

 up or down stream; it is either a question of 

 sitting still or darting off to new quarters. As I 

 looked at them to-day, each rested as demurely on 

 the rippled sand as listening and learned judges. 



