FOURTH DAY. 



DAY was breaking on the morning of the 25th of April, and 

 the first glimmer of light was shining through the cloud- 

 drifts over the silent woods still enveloped in the darkness 

 of the night, while a wall of black clouds towering on the 

 western horizon was the only too certain warning of an 

 approaching change of weather. 



My brother-in-law and I were the first on deck, and were 

 waiting for breakfast, our example being soon followed by 

 Brehin and Homeyer. 



Borubelles had set offin a "csikel " still earlier in the morning, 

 for he was going back all the way up-stream to the nests 

 which I had visited yesterday, intent upon shooting the hen- 

 bird of the first, which had been quite undisturbed. 



After breakfast Hodek settled what we were to do, and each 

 of us had a separate district allotted to him. Leopold was to 

 go to a Sea-Eagle's nest not far from the steamer, and the 

 two " Savants," as we always called them, were detailed for a 

 distant but interesting excursion. They were to travel down 

 the arm of the river to its junction with the main stream, 

 where begins the wide and really gigantic Hullo Marsh, 

 which I shall fully describe elsewhere. At its southern ex- 

 tremity is Draueck, that point of such special geographical 

 interest where the majestic Drave commits its waters to the 

 Danube. Just at the spot where the two rivers meet, the 

 marsh ends in a small wood, generally flooded, and which 

 bears the name of Szrebernicza. There stood the Sea-Eagle's 

 nest that had been assigned to the Savants. 



Hardly had my two friends examined the position of this 



E2 



