, world for their sakes, now chiding them 

 gently, now drawing near to touch them with 

 7{uktaeem t^ her strong bill, or to rub their little cheeks 

 ^yy ■^r^" ^'^^ hers, or just to croon over them in an 

 ecstasy of that wonderful mother love which 

 makes the summer wilderness beautiful, — 

 in ten minutes she upset my theories, and 

 won me altogether, spite of what I had 

 heard and seen of her destructiveness on the 

 fishing grounds. After all, why should she 

 not fish as well as I ? 



And then began the first lessons in swim- 

 ming and hiding and diving, which I had 

 waited so long to see. 



Later I saw her bring little fish, which she 

 had purposely crippled, turn them loose in 

 shallow water, and with a sharp cluck bring 

 the young loons out of their hiding, to set 

 them chasing and diving wildly for their 

 own dinners. But before that happened 

 there was almost a tragedy. 



One day, while the mother was gone fish- 

 ing, the little ones came out of their' hiding 

 among the grasses, and ventured out some 

 distance into the bay. It was their first 



