OWL SECRETS 311 



but a small spatter of dung and a single feather nearly cov- 

 ered with dead leaves. Certainly it would have been difficult 

 to locate the bird above by any telltale signs. 



For fear that the owl might desert, in case she had not laid 

 her eggs, and not knowing then the usual date for that event, 

 I decided to ascertain this from the books before further dis- 

 turbing her. Leaving her to disappear down the hole as I 

 retired, I returned home. The scant references to the breed- 

 ing of this owl gave it as occurring in early April. 



It was Saturday, and, not daring to wait till Monday, at ten 

 o'clock in the evening I drove off with my wife, like a pair 

 of owls ourselves, after the other owl. With lighted lantern 

 I left the team, and stumbled off into the woods. After some 

 blundering, for things looked very differently in the woods 

 by lamp-light, I struck the right path, and a half-mile tramp 

 brought me to the stub. The little head appeared, as before. 

 At once I set the lantern down, and began to climb. Out 

 flitted the silent owl, off to the edge of the woods, to alight 

 there. 



I was soon at the hole, and, holding on by the right arm, 

 I thrust in the left, which had been bared. At first the hole 

 seemed too deep for me to reach the bottom, and foolishly, 

 I had brought no knife. With determination I squeezed in 

 the poor member, till it was almost bleeding from contact with 

 the rough wood. Then came a sort of electric thrill, as the 

 finger tips came in contact with some smooth, round objects. 

 It seemed impossible to grasp them, but at length, by even 

 more painful forcing, I managed to insert fingers under one 

 egg, and draw it out. How many were there was the next 

 question. The bird is said to lay from three to seven. Pro- 

 ceeding after the same manner, I at length had five, and no 

 further fumbling could discover more. I could see in the dim 

 light that they were of a dull white color, quite round, and 



