74 SUMMER 



and the whole colony was gone, with a rush of wings 

 and feet that sent several of the top-shaped eggs, 

 ' > rolling, and several of the young birds toppling over 

 ?^ the cliff to the pounding waves and ledges far below. 

 We stopped, but the colony, almost to a bird, had f 

 \ ,/ bolted, leaving scores of eggs and scores of downy 

 /'..,, young squealing and running together for shelter, 

 like so many beetles under a lifted board. 



But the birds had not every one bolted, for here 

 sat two of the colony among the broken rocks. 

 These two had not been frightened off. That both 

 of them were greatly alarmed, any one could see 

 from their open beaks, their rolling eyes, their tense 

 bodies on tiptoe for flight. Yet here they sat, their 

 wings out like props, or more like gripping hands, 

 as if they were trying to hold themselves down to 

 the rocks against their wild desire to fly. 



And so they were, in truth, for under their ex- 

 tended wings I saw little black feet moving. Those 

 two mother murres were not going to forsake their 

 babies ! No, not even for these approaching mon- 

 ^' sters, such as they had never before seen, clamber- 

 * s ing over their rocks. 



What was different about these two? They had 



their young ones to protect. Yes, but so had every ; l f 

 bird in the great colony its young one, or its egg, : i 



, to protect, yet all the others had gone. Did these \ \ 

 two have more mother-love than the others? And '/ 



1 hence, more courage, more intelligence? 



