220 BASHFUL DRUMMERS. 



came into sight, and waited, and waited, 

 and waited. At last I pushed on, and lo, 

 the place was deserted. There is a familiar 

 Scripture text that might have been writ- 

 ten on purpose for ornithologists : " Let 

 patience have her perfect work." 



This was April 14th. On the 19th I 

 made the experiment again. The drummer 

 was at it as I drew near, and fortune favored 

 me at last. I witnessed the performance 

 three times over. Even now, to be sure, 

 the prospect was not entirely clear, but it 

 was better than ever before, and by this 

 time I had learned to be thankful for small 

 mercies. The grouse kept his place be- 

 tween the acts, moving his head a little 

 one way and another, but apparently doing 

 nothing else. 



Of course I had in mind the disputed 

 question as to the method by which the 

 drumming noise is produced. It had 

 seemed to me that whoever would settle 

 this point must do it by attending carefully 

 to the. first slow beats. This I now at- 

 tempted, and after one trial was ready, off- 

 hand, to accept a theory which heretofore I 

 had scouted ; namely, that the bird makes 



