262 



WILD NATURE'S WAYS. 



which I wanted to find rather badly. During 

 our wanderings up and down a rough, stone- 

 strewn piece of ground, I made the sporting 

 offer of half a crown to the finder. As the elder 

 searcher proved to be the lucky one and the boy 

 only found a seagull's nest, which I did not want, 

 I gave him a shilling as a sort of consolation 

 prize. By the evening the news had spread 

 far and wide that I was giving half a crown per 

 clutch for ringed plover's eggs, and a shilling for 

 those of seagulls, and a lad arrived almost as 

 soon as I did at my friend's house with a basketful, 

 which he was anxious to sell me. Poor boy ! he 

 had walked miles, big with hope, and had to 

 return heavy with disappointment. 



THE BASS ROCK. 



