170 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 
done, it would seem impossible that they concealed 
anything, for they would be apparently flat on the 
surface of the ground. My unexpected approach 
had flushed her before she had time to put back the 
leaves. 
The pleasure of finding such a skilfully concealed 
nest is indescribable. The hunt is a contest between 
intelligence and instinct, where victory by no means 
always inclines to the human. As I looked down at 
the nest, I knew just how the talented recluse in 
“The Gold Bug” felt when, after solving the crypto- 
gram and disposing of every difficulty, he at last 
gazed into the open treasure-chest. 
To-day there was to be no such glorious experience, 
and we finally gave up the hunt and started back 
across the meadow. As we moved through the swish- 
ing grass, suddenly we heard a curious clicking 
bird-note. ‘‘See-lick, see-lick, see-lick,’’ it sounded, 
and we recognized the unfamiliar notes of that rare 
little black-striped sparrow, the Henslow. The 
last time we four had heard that note together was 
on a trip into the heart of the pine-barrens, when we 
not only identified this bird for the first time, but also 
found its nest, a treasure-trove indeed. To-day we 
did not even get a glimpse of the bird. 
Beyond the meadows we came face to face with the 
marsh itself, and plunged in to show the Banker 
and the Architect our marsh hawk’s nest. On the 
way back the Artist made a discovery. Waist-deep 
among the sedges, with the tiny marsh wrens chip- 
ping and bubbling all around him, he suddenly espied 
