SENTRY OF THE SEDGE FLATS 49 



with a glittering green and silver perch, per- 

 haps five inches in length. The quivering 

 body of the fish had its knife-edged gills 

 wide open, and every spine of its formidable, 

 armed fins threateningly erect. But the 

 triumphant fisherman strode ashore with it 

 and proceeded to hammer it into uncon- 

 sciousness on the hard sand. Then he 

 swallowed it head first, thus effectually dis- 

 arming every weapon of fin and gill-cover. 

 The progress of this substantial mouthful 

 could be traced clearly down the bird's slim 

 length of gullet , accompanied as it was by several 

 seconds of contortions so violent that they 

 made the round yellow eyes wink gravely. As 

 soon as the morsel was fairly down the bird 

 stretched its neck to its full length, with a 

 curious hitch of the base as if to assure him- 

 self the process was completed. Then he 

 resumed his post of watching. He had no 

 more than taken his place than a huge black 

 tadpole wriggled by over the gold-meshed 

 bottom. It was speared and swallowed in 

 an eye-wink. Soft, slippery, and spineless, 

 it made but a moment's incident. 



A little after, on the smooth surface of the 

 smaller stream, some fifty feet up-channel, a 

 tiny ripple appeared. Swiftly it drew near. 

 It was pointed, and with a long fine curve of 



