TURTLE EGGS FOR AGASSIZ 43 



the eternally feminine ! But the place, evidently, 

 was hard to find. What could a female turtle do 

 with a whole field of possible nests to choose from? 

 Then at last she found it, and whirling about, she 

 backed quickly at it, and, tail first, began to bury 

 herself before my staring eyes. 



"Those were not the supreme moments of my 

 life; perhaps those moments came later that day; 

 but those certainly were among the slowest, most 

 dreadfully mixed of moments that I ever expe- 

 rienced. They were hours long. There she was, 

 her shell just showing, like some old hulk in the 

 sand along shore. And how long would she stay 

 there? and how should I know if she had laid an 



egg? 



" I could still wait. And so I waited, when, 

 over the freshly awakened fields, floated four mel- 

 low strokes from the distant town clock. 



"Four o'clock ! Why, there was no train until 

 seven ! No train for three hours ! The eggs would 

 spoil ! Then with a rush it came over me that this 

 was Sunday morning, and there was no regular 

 seven o'clock train, none till after nine. 



" I think I should have fainted had not the 

 turtle just then begun crawling off. I was weak 



