36 UPON THE WOOD ROAD 



When at last the bird had flown, and his 

 follower had recovered her senses and re- 

 turned, she had the unprecedented luck 

 to come upon the mate as she supposes 

 of the beguiling singer. By her demon- 

 strations the nest was easily located by a 

 trained nest-hunter who knew where to look, 

 and visited daily from that time. The mother- 

 bird, though never in a panic, did not enjoy 

 her presence, and had various ways of show- 

 ing her displeasure. Sometimes she walked 

 around in a circle, of which the nest was the 

 centre ; again she flew up to a tree and waited 

 for her visitor to leave ; once she tried the 

 well-worn trick of leading an unwelcome 

 guest away, by walking off as if a nest were 

 the last thing she thought of, leading her 

 willing follower a long way from the precious 

 spot before she flew. The nest was a little 

 mound of leaves and grass, to look into which 

 the student was obliged to get on to her 

 knees, and bring her face to a level with the 

 entrance. But she was well repaid, for there 

 was the treasure, the cozy cradle with its 

 three eggs. 



