154 NATURE'S STORY OF THE YEAR 



the heat of the gas " as was said by a kind man 

 who bought the later victim and sold her to me. 

 Both birds became quite tame. They were flown 

 on a weighted cord, and were very vigorous. 



They were both set free on the same sunny day 

 in spring. The Cheltenham bird at once rose, 

 greatly to the consternation of the garden sparrows 

 and starlings ; and she went off at speed towards 

 her former haunt. The Surrey bird had been pro- 

 vided with some fresh tail-feathers in place of the 

 parts broken, and was therefore as well plumed as 

 when caught. She rose slowly, and drifted with 

 the breeze, seeming not to know the district. 

 Watched through a telescope, she could be seen for 

 three miles or more. She drifted on, but was rising 

 all the while, and when last seen she was still 

 ascending, though then quite a mile up. Perhaps 

 she was seeking to discover some known landmark, 

 or she may have been merely indulging to the full 

 the pride of her freed wings. 



