172 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 



was at the side of the tussock, entirely covered over 

 with the arched reeds, and contained fifteen eggs, 

 three of which the clumsy foot of the Artist had 

 broken. They were of a chocolate color and, curi- 

 ously enough, almost identical in color and size with 

 those of the American bittern, except that the inside 

 of the shell of the broken eggs was a light blue. 

 The nest itself was nearly eight inches across and 

 about three inches deep, made entirely of grass. 

 Hurriedly clearing away the broken eggs, we called 

 the Architect from the far side of the marsh. He 

 hastened up, took one look at the nest, and then told 

 us solemnly that this was one of the most unusual 

 occurrences known in ornithology. Three pairs of 

 bitterns had joined housekeeping and laid eggs in 

 the same nest. It was hard on the Architect that we 

 should have flushed probably the only bird in the 

 world whose eggs are almost identical in color and 

 size with those of the American bittern, and it was 

 not until the Artist produced the pheasant's tail- 

 feathers that our friend would admit that there was 

 anything wrong with his theory. 



As we started to leave the place, I saw on the other 

 side of the tussock the largest wood-turtle I have 

 ever met. Its legs and tail were of a bright brick- 

 red, while the shell was beautifully carved in deep 

 intaglios of dingy black and yellow. This turtle 

 ranks next to the terrapin in taste, a fact which I 

 proved the next day. As Mr. Wood-Turtle is fond of 

 bird's eggs, I strongly suspect that my capture of 

 him was all that saved the lives of a round dozen 



