THE MOTHER MURRE 



75 



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We took another step toward them, and one of/ 

 the two birds sprang into the air, knocking her baby 

 over and over with the stroke of her wing, and com-' 7 

 ing within an inch of hurling it across the rim to be< 

 battered on the ledges below. The other bird raised 

 her wings to follow, then clapped them back overy 

 her baby. Fear is the most contagious thing in the ; 

 world ; and that flap of fear by the other bird thrilled 

 her, too, but as she had withstood the stampede of/ 

 the colony, so she caught herself again and held on. , 



She was now alone on the bare top of the rock, 

 with ten thousand circling birds screaming to her 



( in the air above, and with two men creeping up to 

 : her with a big black camera that clicked ominously, y 

 ^ She let the multitude scream, and with threatening '; 

 ^ beak watched the two men come on. A motherless 

 baby, spying her, ran down the rock squealing for 



