BLACKPAD, THE LEADER OF THE V. 



77 



Ing its usual meal from the brook, Black- 

 pad seemed to feel a sense of danger; and 

 though the others were feeding as usual, 

 he watched the shore intently. Presently 

 something yellow crept from behind a rock 

 and couched under the bushes on the very 

 edge of the bank. With a shrill "peer., 

 peet," Blackpad was under water; and, 

 coming up under cover of the projecting 

 bank, on the farther side of the brook, he 

 turned to look at the yellow monster. Then 



YJilniotTdyMsehd 





THE YELLOW PERIL. 



he saw what made his heart almost stop 

 beating. Creeping up the other bank of the 

 brook was a large, yellow, furry animal, 

 with sharp ears and nose, and a bushy tail ; 

 and in its mouth, all limp, and with head 

 hanging, was one of the ducklings^ that had 

 so lately been enjoying its morning meal. 



When Blackpad had given the alarm, old 

 Mrs. Duck, with much splashing and quack- 

 ing, had disappeared down the brook, while 

 her family, with the exception of the unfor- 

 tunate baby which had been feeding, had 

 followed Blackpad's example and taken 

 refuge under the banks. It was several 

 minutes before she appeared, circling above 

 the tree tops, and finally shot down into 

 the brook near the old feeding ground. 

 Then one by one the fugitives left their re- 

 treats and huddled close to her in the mid- 

 dle of the brook. They all understood 

 now. They had had a visit from old Rey- 

 nard and the family was smaller by one. 

 A lesson had been learned, and during the 

 remainder of the summer the daily meals 

 were taken in the widest parts of the brook, 

 well away from either shore. 



A change had been wrought, too. in the 

 heart of Blackpad. He had proved himself 

 a worthy sentinel. Henceforth he was 

 trusted by his mother to give timely warn- 

 ing of danger, and he was proud of the 

 trust. There had been recent changes, too, 

 on the outside. His downy coat was now 



covered with buff and brown feathers, and 

 the wing feathers had lengthened, till he 

 thought when he flapped what had formerly 

 been 2 downy stubs, that the rest of the 

 family should look on in awe. 



Those lessons in flying! How the whole 

 family would leap from the water, at the 

 beginning of some straight stretch of brook 

 and after much flapping and quacking, 

 alight at the other end. On one of these 

 grand ' occasions, instead of stopping in 

 their flight at the edge of the woods, they 

 mounted higher and higher, above the tops 

 of the trees, and after a flight of 5 or more 

 miles, with their mother as leader, dropped 

 into a large woodland lake. There were 

 collected several other broods ; and there 

 Blackpad made a number of acquaintances. 

 During the time spent with them he showed 

 himself as able a sentinel as he had been 

 in his own meadow home. 



Then came the long looked for journey 

 to the coast. What an event it was ! One 

 evening at sunset the whole flock rose from 

 the lake, and forming into a long V, flew 

 South to the level stretch of flats that the 

 tide had left plentifully supplied with food. 

 Blackpad had held undisputed sway in his 

 own home meadow and in the lake first 

 visited, for there the flocks had consisted 

 of young ducks and their mothers ; but 

 when he reached the coast, he was deeply 

 chagrined to find several old drakes who 

 were not at all inclined to obey his orders, 

 or even to trust the safety of the flock to 

 his watchfulness. One old fellow par- 

 ticularly seemed to have a decided hatred 

 for Blackpad, and chased him from his 

 presence whenever opportunity occurred. 

 One night this old drake disappeared, no 

 one knew where; although a banging 

 sound on the other side of the island 

 where they were feeding may have had 

 something to do with it. The remaining 

 drakes fought fiercely for the mastery, 

 Blackpad winning. 



Ah ! Then his joy and pride knew no 

 bounds. With what dignity he gave, each 

 morning, his loud "quack, quack," rose from 

 the flats, or salt ponds, and, followed by the 

 whole band, led the long V-shaped squad 

 far inland to the chain of lakes. How care- 

 ful he was, when they arrived over a de- 

 sirable drinking spot to lead them in a 

 whistling circle 2 or 3 times around it be- 

 fore they steadied their wings and shot 

 down to enjoy its freshness. 



Blackpad never gave himself up to this 

 enjoyment, for no sooner would the flock 

 be settled, than he would swim round and 

 round them, with raised head, steadily 

 watching the shore, and keeping the care- 

 less members of the flock from venturing 

 too near its margin. 



On coming to their favorite lake one 

 morning, Blackpad noticed an odd looking 



