114 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



young Wrens hopping in and out amongst the great 

 boulders of rock, and we all gave chase with the 

 idea of capturing one of them in order that my 

 brother might photograph it. We were no match, 

 however, for the sharp little fellows, who dodged 

 about through holes and crevices with tantalising 

 ease and swiftness. Whilst making a desperate 

 rush after one, cap in hand, and all too unheedful 

 of the obstacles lying in my path, I struck the toes 

 of my bootless left foot against a thin slab of earth- 

 fast stone, which stood edge-on and straight up. 

 My second toe gave a tremendous crack, which was 

 heard by one of the boys several yards away, and 

 I felt a stinging pain that turned me quite sick, 

 and compelled me to sit down to sweat and bite 

 my lips in sheer agony. Luckily it was a toe on 

 my already and long since, injured leg that was 

 hurt, and after the sickness had passed off a little 

 I resumed the chase on one foot and two hands, 

 and in a short while actually succeeded in captur- 

 ing a Wren. It happened in this way. I saw the 

 bird go into what proved to be a small cave, and 

 when I peeped inside discovered it sitting at the 

 bottom of an inclined plane of black wet peat 

 three or four yards in. I began to squeeze my 

 way through the mouth of the cave, but being 

 somewhat ample about the shoulders I had consider- 

 able difficulty in passing in. No sooner had I got 

 the most ponderous part of my anatomy through 

 than my hands slipped on the slimy peat, and I 

 slid helplessly to the bottom of the cave. Never- 

 theless, I kept my eye on the Wren, and had the 

 good fortune to secure it in a dark nook, from 

 which there was no escape for the little creature. 

 The difficulty was now to get out of the dank, 

 peculiar-smelling place; for every time I placed a 



