308 ON THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS 
babies, for his mate—and saw only one still body 
lying in the rough thimble of sticks. Dropping 
down lower as he sped on, his keen eye saw the 
faintest almost imperceptible smoke wraith drift- 
ing up from the hemlock blind. He had never 
seen anything like that before, except from men, 
or about the houses of men. Suspiciously he 
circled, dropping lower and lower, and suddenly 
calling to his mate in shrill cac-cacs. There was 
no answer. No answer from her, no answer from 
the nest. The single form within it lay still. 
Baldy knew it was dead. His piercing eye kept 
watch where he had glimpsed that smoke, and he 
saw a hand part the boughs a little and push up 
something that gleamed. Instinctively he shot 
up a few feet, as the gleaming thing spit and 
roared, and he heard the bullet twing past his ear. 
Another great downward shove with his wings, 
and he sprang higher still, wheeling and crying 
in anger and perplexity. Gradually he sank to- 
ward the nest again, but again came the spit and 
roar from the hemlocks, and again the twing of 
something past him, this time clipping a feather 
from his tail. He shot up violently, and swung 
