FAR AND NEAR 



containing a good one to take home and put up for 

 the bluebirds. *' Why don't the bluebirds occupy them 

 here ? " inquired Ted. " Oh," I rephed, " bluebirds 

 do not come so far into the woods as this. They 

 prefer nesting-places in the open, and near human 

 habitations." After carefully scrutinizing several of 

 the trees, we at last saw one that seemed to fill the bill. 

 It was a small dead tree trunk seven or eight inches 

 in diameter, that leaned out over the water, and 

 from which the top had been broken. The hole, 

 round and firm, was ten or twelve feet above us. 

 After considerable effort I succeeded in breaking the 

 stub off near the ground, and brought it down into 

 the boat. " Just the thing," I said ; " surely the blue- 

 birds will prefer this to an artificial box." But, lo 

 and behold, it already had bluebirds in it! We 

 had not heard a sound or seen a feather till the 

 trunk was in our hands, when, on peering into the 

 cavity, we discovered two young bluebirds about 

 half grown. This was a predicament indeed! My 

 venture had proved to be more rash and regretta- 

 ble than Ted's. 



Well, the only thing w^e could do was to stand the 

 tree trunk up again as well as we could, and as near 

 as we could to where it had stood before. This was 

 no easy thing. But after a time we had it fairly 

 well replaced, one end standing in the mud of the 

 shallow water and the other resting against a tree. 

 This left the hole to the nest about ten feet below and 



216 



