THE MOTHER MURRE 75 



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- 

 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 over 

 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. 

 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 



