MY HUMMING BIRDS. 
107 
but it only exasperated mine : I shook off the water and 
vowed I'd find that nest if it took me a week ; but how to be- 
gin was the question. I had lost the limb, and how was I to 
find it among an hundred others just like it. 
The knot I had seen was so exactly like other knots, upon 
other limbs all around it, that the prospect of finding it, 
seemed a hopeless one. But "I'll try sir!" is my favorite 
motto. I laid myself down as nearly as possible in the po- 
sition I originally occupied — but, after some twenty minutes 
experiment, came to the conclusion that my head had been 
too much confused by the shock of my fall and ducking, for 
me to hope to make much out of this method. Then I went 
under the tree, and commencing at the trunk with the lowest 
limb, which leaned over the water, I followed it slowly and 
carefully with my eye out to the extremest twig, noting care- 
fully everything that seemed like a knot. This produced no 
satisfactory result after half an hour's trial, and with an 
aching neck I gave it up in despair, for I saw half a dozen 
knots, either one of w^hich seemed as likely to be the right 
one as the other. 
I now changed my tactics again, and, ascending the tree, 
I stopped with my feet upon each one of these limbs and 
looked down along it length. It was a very tedious pro- 
ceeding, but I persevered. Knot after knot deceived me, 
but, at last, when just above the middle of the tree, I 
caught a sharp gleam among the leaves, of gold and purple, 
and looking down upon the last limb to which. I had 
climbed — almost lost my footing for the ]oy — when I saw 
about three feet out from where I stood, the glistening back 
and wings of the little bird just covering the top of one of 
those mysterious knots — that was about the size of half a 
hen's egg. Its glancing head, long bill and keen eyes, w^ere 
turned upwards and perfectly still, except the latter, which 
surveyed me from head to foot with the most dauntless ex- 
pression. It seemed to have not the slightest intention of 
moving, and I would not have disturbed it for the world. 
