Robin Hood's Barn 



At last an evening came when protection was 

 no longer possible. That night as I pulled the 

 curtain down, I think I sensed their danger, 

 tucked in for the first time without a sheltering 

 wing. But I was not prepared for the sharp cry 

 of anguish that later brought me to my feet. I 

 arrived just in time to flash my torch upon two 

 beady eyes and a large gray figure scampering 

 down the vines. When at last I had clambered 

 to the nest and put my hand in, it was empty. 

 Then as my mother held a flaring lamp, I reached 

 about the ground below. In a moment my hands 

 were on something soft and warm, a fat, downy, 

 little ball. Then another. The last I thought 

 that I should never find. Indeed, had I not had 

 in mind the evil face among the vines, I had given 

 up the search. But finally I came across it, cow- 

 ering perilously under foot. The first receptacle 

 that we found in our desperation was the fireless 

 cooker. There, after covering it with a warm 

 cloth, we left our charges ill-contented with their 

 new abode. 



I slept impatiently that night. I could not 

 bear to think of the long patient weeks of brood- 

 [286] 



