At Papa. 219 



day or two, she could send some of the birds to Mr. 

 Gatherer. She supposed that she might send a few 

 if they could get them, but said there were some 

 times when they could not get one. So we could 

 make no more of her. Mr. Gatherer said that she 

 knew quite well where the petrels' nests were, but 

 she did not wish to let us see them ; she wished to 

 have the disposal of them to herself, and not to let us 

 know where to come back and gather them ourselves. 

 This was all natural and reasonable enough, and we 

 importuned her no further. 



" We went out to the shore, which was covered 

 with large boulders, some of them many tons' weight 

 each, which, we were told, were thrown up in heavy 

 storms. The sea-birds built under the stones, as well 

 as starlings, which we saw going under them. On 

 the steep beach, or shore, we heard the birds cheep- 

 ing, as it were, under our feet. I began to roll away 

 some of the stones to get to them. I laid my ear to 

 the opening that I had made, but, when I held my 

 ear to the one side of it, I thought that the sound 

 came from that side, and when I held it to the other 

 side I was as sure that it came from that. It put me 

 in mind of ventriloquism. After working away at 

 the opening, the sounds seemed to be as far from 

 me as ever, and it was as uncertain whence they 

 proceeded, so I gave up the search as a hopeless task. 



" Fortunately, the afternoon was much calmer than 

 the morning, and we had some dredging on the 

 sheltered side of the island, and a haul or two on the 

 way back to Scalloway. 



" As the days were long, and scarcely at any time 



