30 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



death, 'twas plain to see from her demeanour, but she 

 bravely tried to hide it from her suitor. When he 

 turned to trip along his log, she preened her feathers, 

 and took no count of him ; but as he finished his 

 length, she affected alertness, interest, and delight. A 

 true feminine, little Miss Grouse, who would screen 

 from her admirer any failing of hers. Very human 

 too, for it is human for all feminine things to shun 

 showing their faults to the masculine creatures who 

 admire them. It is the law of nature. In wild life 

 the male puts on his gaudiest colours, and the female 

 chooses. In the long run she selects what is best for 

 her species, and we get the survival of the fittest. In 

 civilization the woman decks herself. It all comes to 

 the same thing. 



A rustle of my making, my shooting boot, not 

 suited to this silent tracking, crunched a protesting 

 twig. The blue grouse paused, his head alert, listen- 

 ing, and his little ladye flew off, glad of the excuse, 

 and vanished among the feathery fir tops. My friend 

 sat on defiant. Perhaps he guessed that I would not 

 take his life even though the pot cried out in empti- 

 ness, for it is not thus that we reward such well-graced 

 players. 



"Begone!" I called. "Go after her. You've 

 done very well. I admire you exceedingly." 



He deserved the compliment, and that made it worth 

 having. Flattery is not often sincere, rarely, indeed; 

 it usually has an end, " that thrift may follow 

 fawning." 



In one clear rocky inlet Ralph and the Leader 



