How a Nevj> Water Witch Came to the Marsh 181 



was of the age that would have made him repeat the process 

 to show how little he cared for my objections. 



The egg moved considerably. I pointed to it. The girl 

 looked and nodded. 



"It's a regular drama," she said. 



It was a regular drama. New wild things were about to 

 come into the world in the midst of disturbing speedboats, 

 curious humans, and all the hazards of weather. There were 

 many predators which would like to find them— fish, birds, 

 and mammals. Hungry creatures would daily scan all likely 

 places where such events might occur, and if they found 

 the eggs or young quick destruction followed. Many times I 

 have found an empty and sometimes torn nest. It amazed 

 me that these locations ever escaped the predators, even 

 though the sitting bird blended well with the surroundings 

 and pulled vegetation over the eggs when it left. I was sure 

 that tragedy must have already struck at this spot, for I heard 

 no sounds from, and caught no sight of, the bird out of the 

 first egg. It should have been close to the place where it was 

 hatched, peeping its high note and watching for its parents 

 and food. Something must have removed it on the first day 

 of its existence. Something almost always happened to part 

 of the nestlings. The individual bird's fate had no place in 

 the consideration of the perpetuation of its kind. There must 

 be enough eggs laid and enough young birds survive to in- 

 sure the continuance of the species, and if this survival was 

 sufficient, the fate of the nonsurvivors seemed of little im- 

 portance. 



There were still five eggs in the nest. Another bird was 

 soon to appear to increase the hatching percentage. A hole 

 opened and a sharp-tipped bill projected. I heard the thin 

 peeping of the inmate. The girl had the glasses to her eyes 

 and I turned the cracked side of the egg toward her so that 

 she might watch it better. She nodded her thanks. The one 



