160 AT THE NORTH OF BEARCAMP WATER . 
on that hearth, that our first voyage of discov¬ 
ery seems as far off as the time when “Kit 
Colombus sailed from the Papal See.” 
We wandered through the rooms of the cot¬ 
tage, peeped at the sky through the cracks in 
its roof, noted the pewee’s nest on the wains¬ 
coting in the east room, and whirled the old 
flax-wheel which stood in the dark attic. Then, 
passing the ancient maples behind the great 
barn, we strolled on and on through the pas¬ 
tures until a faint path led us to the lonely lake 
among the dingles, almost at the foot of Cho- 
corua. Softly descending the steep path to the 
edge of the green water, we saw five black ducks 
rise from the lake and fly from us over the oaks. 
The rush of their wings is in my ears to this 
day, and my eyes recall the clouds which loomed 
over the peak and swept down upon the lake, 
bringing much cold wind and a little rain. 
From the storm-clouds a small hawk came cir¬ 
cling down towards the troubled water and 
tossing birches. As he soared above us, seem¬ 
ingly protesting against our coming into the 
charmed vale, I shot him. The strong wings 
gave one spasmodic beat, the fierce head fell 
forward, and the body shot downward and 
struck the sand at our feet. We had claimed 
dominion by force of arms, and when we next 
saw the lake, it was ours in law. 
