THIN ICE 



his nest he builds on the v/ater's edge 

 and clambers awkwardly to it with wings 

 and bill as well as feet. The air and 

 water are his home, the water far more 

 than the air, and he knows the under- 

 water world as well as he does the sur- 

 face. I shall never know whether my 

 loon went so far in his flight beneath 

 the ice that he failed to find his way 

 back, or whether his strength gave out. 

 Knowing his untamed and fearless spirit 

 I am inclined to believe that he delib- 

 erately elected to die at home, in the cool 

 depths that he loved rather than come 

 back to his poor refuge in the narrowing 

 ice circle and face that strange creature 

 that knelt at the edge. 



