THE PEREGRINE FALCON 
peregrine from his perch out through the loop- 
holes into the thin winter sunshine, but by the 
end of the second day he started less at the 
crash and whirr which seemed to make the 
very cobwebs shake. Whenever he sought 
the outer air, the jackdaws saw him. There 
were generally three or four gossiping just 
below him on the south parapet of the tower, 
and the sight of him, fugitive, bemused and 
dazzled by the sudden noise and sunshine, was 
the signal for the whole tribe to dash after him 
over the nave roof to the Lady Chapel and 
back, until he took refuge in the spire again. 
When he ventured out to sun himself on the 
sill of the loop-hole or drink from the gutters, 
they swaggered round him, bullying and beck- 
ing, with cunning sidelong glances. At intervals 
throughout the day, as the falcon sat hunched 
out of sight, he heard the interrogative " Ya- 
ha ? " and Cudog's black wings eclipsed the light 
as he sidled on the window-ledge. But the 
peregrine refused to be tempted. In the cold 
dawn of the second day he struck an unwary 
starling on the leads, and the meal put new 
heart in him. Next morning he caught a 
sparrow. The daws skylarking over the roofs 
merely saw the flick of his wing as he slipped 
over the parapet with weighted claws ; they did 
not recognize a danger signal in the scattered 
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