172 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 
was at the side of the tussock, entirely covered over 
with the arched reeds, and contained fifteen eggs, 
three of which the clumsy foot of the Artist had 
broken. They were of a chocolate color and, curi- 
ously enough, almost identical in color and size with 
those of the American bittern, except that the inside 
of the shell of the broken eggs was a light blue. 
The nest itself was nearly eight inches across and 
about three inches deep, made entirely of grass. 
Hurriedly clearing away the broken eggs, we called 
the Architect from the far side of the marsh. He 
hastened up, took one look at the nest, and then told 
us solemnly that this was one of the most unusual 
occurrences known in ornithology. Three pairs of 
bitterns had joined housekeeping and laid eggs in 
the same nest. It was hard on the Architect that we 
should have flushed probably the only bird in the 
world whose eggs are almost identical in color and 
size with those of the American bittern, and it was 
not until the Artist produced the pheasant’s tail- 
feathers that our friend would admit that there was 
anything wrong with his theory. 
As we started to leave the place, I saw on the other 
side of the tussock the largest wood-turtle I have 
ever met. Its legs and tail were of a bright brick- 
red, while the shell was beautifully carved in deep 
intaglios of dingy black and yellow. This turtle 
ranks next to the terrapin in taste, a fact which I 
proved the next day. As Mr. Wood-Turtle is fond of 
bird’s eggs, I strongly suspect that my capture of 
him was all that saved the lives of a round dozen 
