﻿174 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  another 
  direction, 
  over 
  the 
  sky-line, 
  and 
  was 
  lost 
  to 
  view. 
  I 
  waited 
  

   again, 
  and 
  in 
  about 
  ten 
  minutes 
  she 
  returned 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  

   direction 
  in 
  which 
  she 
  had 
  last 
  disappeared, 
  and 
  repeated 
  the 
  

   manoeuvres 
  above 
  described, 
  also 
  picking 
  up 
  flies, 
  and 
  endeavour- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  put 
  on 
  an 
  appearance 
  of 
  supreme 
  indifference. 
  As 
  if 
  not 
  

   quite 
  certain 
  of 
  my 
  presence, 
  she 
  sometimes 
  perched 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  

   a 
  mossy 
  hummock 
  and 
  looked 
  round, 
  jerking 
  up 
  her 
  head 
  ; 
  but, 
  

   finally, 
  she 
  again 
  ran 
  swiftly 
  over 
  the 
  sky-line. 
  From 
  these 
  move- 
  

   ments 
  I, 
  somewhat 
  too 
  hastily, 
  concluded 
  that 
  the 
  nest 
  must 
  have 
  

   been 
  in 
  that 
  direction, 
  and 
  I 
  accordingly 
  left 
  my 
  place 
  of 
  conceal- 
  

   ment, 
  and 
  carefully 
  stalked, 
  on 
  hands 
  and 
  knees, 
  after 
  her. 
  I 
  

   peeped 
  over 
  the 
  crest 
  just 
  to 
  see 
  her 
  take 
  wing 
  from 
  the 
  succeed- 
  

   ing 
  sky-line. 
  

  

  'Feilden 
  and 
  the 
  keeper 
  then 
  joined 
  me, 
  and 
  we 
  searched 
  

   carefully 
  around, 
  beating 
  up 
  every 
  foot 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  square 
  which 
  

   we 
  had 
  first 
  marked 
  out. 
  We 
  found 
  a 
  false 
  nest, 
  which 
  gave 
  us 
  

   hopes. 
  Had 
  the 
  real 
  nest 
  been 
  within 
  that 
  square, 
  we 
  feel 
  con- 
  

   vinced 
  it 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  escaped 
  us, 
  and 
  the 
  sequel 
  will 
  show 
  

   how 
  closely 
  we 
  must 
  have 
  passed 
  it. 
  Once 
  more 
  we 
  went 
  to 
  the 
  

   east 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  range. 
  Here, 
  amongst 
  some 
  loose 
  stones 
  on 
  the 
  

   side 
  of 
  the 
  hill, 
  we 
  found 
  a 
  Ptarmigan 
  sitting 
  on 
  her 
  nest. 
  

   Feilden 
  put 
  down 
  his 
  hand, 
  and 
  the 
  poor 
  bird 
  did 
  not 
  move 
  off 
  

   her 
  eggs 
  until 
  his 
  forefinger 
  was 
  within 
  three 
  inches 
  of 
  her 
  bill. 
  

   When 
  at 
  last 
  she 
  scuttled 
  off, 
  we 
  found 
  that 
  she 
  had 
  been 
  sitting 
  

   hard 
  on 
  only 
  three 
  eggs. 
  

  

  'After 
  an 
  hour 
  or 
  so, 
  Feilden 
  started, 
  this 
  time 
  alone, 
  and 
  we 
  

   lay 
  still. 
  In 
  about 
  half 
  an 
  hour 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  he 
  left 
  us 
  we 
  heard 
  

   him 
  shout, 
  and 
  we 
  sprang 
  to 
  our 
  feet 
  and 
  ran. 
  The 
  keeper 
  said, 
  

   "Can 
  he 
  have 
  found 
  it 
  1 
  ?" 
  and 
  I 
  answered, 
  as 
  we 
  ran, 
  "Not 
  a 
  

   doubt 
  of 
  it." 
  Sure 
  enough, 
  Feilden 
  had 
  the 
  nest 
  safely 
  and 
  

   surely 
  marked 
  with 
  a 
  red 
  pocket-handkerchief, 
  and 
  had 
  come 
  

   away 
  to 
  meet 
  us. 
  As 
  we 
  now 
  approached 
  we 
  again 
  saw 
  the 
  bird 
  

   run, 
  this 
  time 
  directly 
  off 
  the 
  nest. 
  It 
  was 
  not 
  fifteen 
  yards 
  from 
  

   the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  big 
  square 
  we 
  had 
  before 
  so 
  carefully 
  searched. 
  

   We 
  sat 
  down 
  beside 
  the 
  nest 
  and 
  feasted 
  our 
  eyes 
  upon 
  the 
  con- 
  

   tents 
  j 
  and 
  the 
  poor 
  bird, 
  still 
  exercising 
  her 
  cunning, 
  ran 
  round 
  

   and 
  round 
  us, 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  picking 
  at 
  the 
  flies, 
  or 
  pretending 
  to 
  

   do 
  so, 
  or 
  watching 
  us 
  from 
  a 
  hummock 
  of 
  moss. 
  

  

  'There 
  were 
  the 
  three 
  eggs, 
  lying 
  in 
  a 
  shallow 
  saucer-like 
  

  

  