204 WOODLAND IDYLS. 



more potent scavenger of the air; into a bird 

 who has proven himself a worthy victor in the 

 great struggle by adapting himself to changing 

 conditions and working out a new method of 

 gaining a livelihood. 



He is still there, still gazing and diving, but 

 now he flits to another point of vantage, another 

 tree-top whose tip is dead. From it I see him 

 dart out one hundred fifty feet, then back again, 

 his quest successful ; a new bug added to his col- 

 lection, not because it will look well on a pin, 

 but because it tastes well and will furnish new 

 energy for to-morrow's work. 1 look again and 

 he is back to the aery where the buzzard sat. 

 Methinks he is like the fisherman who changes 

 from one pool to another then back again, as his 

 luck varies. But wherever he is, his keen eye 

 searches the air in all directions and a dinner 

 surely will he have in time. Long may he live 

 and prosper! I only wish that he would make 

 the top of my head a temporary aery and from 

 there prey upon the horde of blood-sucking 

 vampires which are trying to empty my capil- 

 laries as I write. 



Moving on down stream a marmot or a squir- 

 rel, so quick was it I could not tell which, 

 dodged behind a shelving bank and was lost to 

 view. It had just quenched its thirst when I ad- 

 vanced within the limits of its vision. Soon a 

 black-snake, blue-black, shining and glossy, glided 



