ii8 



Tfuktaeem 

 meMght 



way; their numbers increased daily. Twi- 

 light was the favorite time for arriving. In 

 the stillness I would hear Hukweem far 

 away, so high that he was only a voice. 

 Presently I would see him whirling over 

 the lake in a great circle. — "Come down; 

 O, come down," cry all the loons. " I 'm 

 afraid ; ooo-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooo-eee ! I 'm afraid," 

 says Hukweem, who is perhaps a little loon, 

 all the way from Labrador on his first migra- 

 tion, and has never come down from a height 

 before. " Come on ; O, come oh-ho-ho-ho-ho- 

 hon I It won't hurt you; we did it; come 

 on," cry all the loons. 



Then Hukweem would slide lower with 

 each circle, whirling round and round the lake 

 in a great spiral, yelling all the time, and all 

 the loons answering. When low enough, he 

 would set his wings and plunge like a shot 

 at the very midst of the assembly, which 

 scattered wildly, yelling like school-boys — 

 " Look out ! he '11 break his neck ; he '11 hit 

 you ; he '11 break your back if he hits you." 

 — So they splashed away in a desperate 

 fright, each one looking back over his 



