170 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 



done, it would seem impossible that they concealed 

 anything, for they would be apparently flat on the 

 surface of the ground. My unexpected approach 

 had flushed her before she had time to put back the 

 leaves. 



The pleasure of finding such a skilfully concealed 

 nest is indescribable. The hunt is a contest between 

 intelligence and instinct, where victory by no means 

 always inclines to the human. As I looked down at 

 the nest, I knew just how the talented recluse in 

 "The Gold Bug" felt when, after solving the crypto- 

 gram and disposing of every difficulty, he at last 

 gazed into the open treasure-chest. 



To-day there was to be no such glorious experience, 

 and we finally gave up the hunt and started back 

 across the meadow. As we moved through the swish- 

 ing grass, suddenly we heard a curious clicking 

 bird-note. "See-lick, see-lick, see-lick," it sounded, 

 and we recognized the unfamiliar notes of that rare 

 little black-striped sparrow, the Henslow. The 

 last time we four had heard that note together was 

 on a trip into the heart of the pine-barrens, when we 

 not only identified this bird for the first time, but also 

 found its nest, a treasure-trove indeed. To-day we 

 did not even get a glimpse of the bird. 



Beyond the meadows we came face to face with the 

 marsh itself, and plunged in to show the Banker 

 and the Architect our marsh hawk's nest. On the 

 way back the Artist made a discovery. Waist-deep 

 among the sedges, with the tiny marsh wrens chip- 

 ping and bubbling all around him, he suddenly espied 



