A TORPEDO IN FEATHERS 141 



ing the lake in all directions. Then, lifting 

 his black head, which gleamed in the sun 

 with green, purple, and sapphire iridescence, 

 he gave vent to a strange wild cry like a 

 peal of bitter laughter. The cry echoed 

 hollowly from the desolate shores of the lake. 

 A moment or two later it was answered, in 

 the same hollow and disconcerting tones, 

 and from behind the islet his mate came 

 swimming to meet him. 



For a few minutes the two great birds swam 

 slowly around each other, uttering several 

 times their weird cry. As they floated at 

 their ease, unalarmed, they sat high in the 

 water, showing something of the clean pearly 

 whiteness of their breasts and under parts. 

 Their sturdy trimly modelled bodies were 

 about three feet in length, from the tips of 

 their straight and formidable green beaks 

 to the ends of their short stiff tails. Their 

 heads, as we have seen, were of an intense 

 and iridescent black, their necks encircled 

 by collars of black and white, their backs, 

 shoulders and wings dull black, with white 

 spots and bars. Their feet, very large, broadly 

 webbed, and set extraordinarily far back, al- 

 most like those of a penguin, glimmered black 

 as they fanned back and forth in the clear 

 amber water. 



