76 



SUMMER 



his life. She spread a wing, put her bill behind him 



'"'and shoved him quickly in out of sight with her 

 '"' *own baby. The man with the camera saw the act, 

 for I heard his machine click, and I heard him say 

 something under his breath that you would hardly \ux 

 expect a mere man and a game-warden to say. But ^ ^ 

 most men have a good deal of the mother in them ; * 

 and the old bird had acted with such decision, such )/' 

 courage, such swift, compelling instinct, that any ^ 

 man, short of the wildest savage, would have felt his -~ 

 heart quicken at the sight. 



"Just how compelling might that mother-instinct! 

 be?" I wondered. "Just how much would that 

 mother-love stand?" I had dropped to my knees, r:> 

 and on all fours had crept up within about three / ?! 

 feet of the bird. She still had chance for flight. \ ? 



;/ Would she allow me to crawl any nearer? Slowly, ^ 

 ,very slowly, I stretched forward on my hands, like <L 



(a measuring-worm, until my body lay flat on the f 

 rocks, and my fingers were within three inches of *- 



.her. But her wings were twitching, a wild light 



her 



eyes, 



and her head turned toward 



'* danced in 

 jh the sea. 



For a whole minute I did not stir. I was .watch- ^4: '"j 

 'ing and the wings again began to tighten about I 

 Hhe babies, the wild light in the eyes died down, the 

 ' long, sharp beak turned once more toward me. 



Then slowly, very slowly, I raised my hand, ^ 

 "touched her feathers with the tip of one finger 



