56 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



leaf. The river margin, both in the water 

 and out of it, was populous with insect life 

 and the darting bill took toll of it at every 

 step. But the most important game was 

 frogs. There were plenty of them, small, 

 greenish ochre fellows, who sat on the lily 

 leaves and stared with foolish goggle-eyes till 

 that stalking blue doom was almost upon 

 them. Then they would dive head-foremost 

 into the water, quick almost as the fleeting of a 

 shadow. But quicker still was the stroke of 

 the yellow beak and the captive, pounded 

 into limpness, would vanish down his captor's 

 insatiable throat. This was better hunting 

 than he had had upon the sand-spit, and he 

 followed it up with great satisfaction. He 

 even had the triumph of capturing a small 

 water-rat, which had darted out of the grass- 

 roots just as he came by. The little beast 

 was tenacious of life, and had to be well 

 hammered on the mud before it would consent 

 to lie still enough to be swallowed comfort- 

 ably. This pleasant task, however, was pres- 

 ently accomplished ; and the great bird, as 

 he stretched his head upward to give his neck 

 that final hitch which drove the big mouthful 

 home, took a careless step backward into the 

 shallow water. There was a small sinister 

 sound, and something closed relentlessly on 



