2IO 



is the wonder of all those who have ever 

 watched wild geese. And when at midday 

 the feeding was done, and the goslings were 

 sunning themselves on the bank of another 



/"X flashet under the mother's eye, Waptonk took 



In Quest of 



-v 



wing and bore away swiftly over the woods 

 and marshes to the ocean ; as if in his cramped 

 life he wanted room and exercise, or perhaps 

 just a glimpse of the wide sea, which he 

 loved, as all others do who have once felt 

 the spell of its boundless mystery. For within 

 the hour he was back again, as usual, stand- 

 ing guard over his own. 



Later, as I returned day after day to watch 

 the gray voyagers that had so long attracted 

 me, I saw a rare bit of Waptonk's care and 

 sagacity. One of the goslings, more head- 

 strong than the others, in wandering away 

 from the leader over a treacherous bit of 

 bog-land found himself stogged in some soft 

 mud that he attempted to cross too hurriedly 

 and carelessly. He floundered desperately 

 for a moment, called sharply, and then lay 

 perfectly quiet with wings extended on the 

 mud to keep himself from sinking deeper. 



