CHAP. xix. AN ELDORADO. 235 



peared. The flock of little stints were still there, but I 

 left them to follow a snow-bunting, the first I had seen since 

 leaving Ust-Zylma. I shot it. Then, to my consternation, 

 I discovered through my glass that the last man had left 

 the beacon, and I must return ; a pair of black-throated 

 divers were sailing about the bay, one or two herring-gulls 

 were flying about, but my time was up. I was a good mile 

 from the ship, so, turning by the sandhills, I made my way 

 to the beacon, bagging a fine male grey plover as I went. 

 As soon as I got on board, we started for Alexievka. 



My wonderful success at the last moment determined us 

 that by some means we would return to this land teeming 

 with rare birds. We marked, as we steamed along, that 

 the sandhills continued on the north side of the river 

 Dvoinik as far as Cape Constantino vka. It was probable 

 that the breeding-ground of the "little stints" might be 

 found on these coasts or on the mountains. Those I had 

 seen might be last year's birds, not breeding this year, but 

 haunting the neighbourhood of the older ones, as is the 

 case with the flocks of dunlins. It was tantalising to have 

 to hurry away from what seemed an Eldorado ; and as we 

 looked at the old washing-tub that usually carried us on our 

 trips to the tundra, and knew that for its life it could not 

 dare cross the Bolvanski Bucht, we felt inclined to parody 

 on Kichard III.'s cry, and exclaim aloud, " A boat ! a boat ! 

 my kingdom for a boat ! " 



Our young grey plovers in down, when we visited them, 

 we found thriving. There were five small birds, in excel- 

 lent condition. 



