JIM’S BABIES 
tone to those five black babies about the ene- 
mies lurking under the tree, Mrs. Jim 
was even more nervous, and kept up a per- 
petual cawing and jerking her tail whenever 
we were in sight. It was comical to see the 
young ones peer over the edge at us in imi- 
tation of their elders, withdrawing instantly 
at our first move. 
Every night found them in the oak-tree. 
When taken down to the lake’s edge as soon 
as they could fly to drink and bathe, they 
walked into the water with evident delight, 
and waded about in it, trying to pick up 
bright pebbles shining on the beach. The 
second day they did find some kind of food, 
though it was impossible through the field- 
glasses to tell just what. At some signal 
given by Jim ” they usually rose with one 
accord in circles until level with the tree- 
tops, sometimes striking a lower level and 
disappearing in, rather than over, the wood. 
Yet wherever they spent their waking 
hours, I am sure that for many days they 
came back to the nest-tree at night. 
87 
