Hukweem the Night Voice. 139 



I went back and hunted awhile for the nest among 

 the bogs of a little bay ; then left the search to investi- 

 gate a strange call that sounded continuously farther 

 up the shore. It came from some hidden spot in the 

 tall grass, an eager little whistling cry, reminding me 

 somehow of a nest of young fish-hawks. 



As I waded cautiously among the bogs, trying to 

 locate the sound, I came suddenly upon the loon's nest 

 just the bare top of a bog, where the mother bird 

 had pulled up the grass and hollowed the earth 

 enough to keep the eggs from rolling out. They 

 were there on the bare ground, two very large olive 

 eggs with dark blotches. I left them undisturbed and 

 went on to investigate the crying, which had stopped 

 a moment as I approached the nest. 



Presently it began again behind me, faint at first, 

 then louder and more eager, till I traced it back to 

 Hukweem's household. But there was nothing here 

 to account for it, only two innocent-looking eggs on 

 top of a bog. I bent over to examine them more 

 closely. There, on the sides, were two holes, and out 

 of the holes projected the points of two tiny bills. 

 Inside were two little loons, crying at the top of 

 their lungs, "Let me out! O let me out! It's hot 

 in here. Let me out Oooo-eee ! pip-pip-pip / " 



But I left the work of release to the mother bird, 



