vel rays of sunrise stole mysteriously across
the pale marshes.

The hunter, tired of his long stillness in the sedge, was just about
to stand up and stretch himself, when from far down the sky to
southward came a hollow and confused clamour. The hunter heard it, and
the brown retriever heard it; and both crouched low behind their
shelter, as motionless as stones. The wild captive, floating at the
end of his tether out on the pink-and-gold mirror of the pond, also
heard it, and stretched his fine black head aloft, rigid with
expectancy. Nearer and nearer came the thrilling voices. Blacker and
larger against the sky grew the journeying V as it approached the
marshes. The heart of the captive swelled with hope and longing. Not
his own flock, indeed, but his own kin, these free and tireless
voyagers coming confidently to safe feeding-grounds! Forgetting
everything but his great loneliness, he raised himself as high as he
could upon the water, one wing partly outspread, and called, and
called again, summoning the travellers to alight.

Hearing this kindly summons, the flock dipped at once and came
slanting steeply toward earth. In their haste they broke rank,
descending more abruptly than usual, their customary caution quite
laid aside when they saw one of their own kind waiting to receive
them. The joyous captive ducked and bowed his head in greeting. In
another moment the whole flock would have settled clamorously about
him, and he would have been happy,--but before that moment came there
came instead two bursts of flame and thunder from the covert of sedge.
And instead of the descending flock, there fell beside the captive two
heavy, fluttering gray-and-black shapes, which beat the water feebly
and then lay still.

As the betrayed and panic-stricken flock flapped away in confusion the
captive tugged frantically at his tether, crying shrilly and
struggling to follow them. In his desperation he paid no heed whatever
as the big, brown dog dashed out and triumphantly dragged the bodies
of the two victims to land. He was horrified by the terrible noise,
and the killing; but his attention was chiefly engrossed by the fact
that the flock had been frightened away, leaving him to his
loneliness. For several minutes he continued his cries, till the flock
was far out of sight. Then silence fell again on the marshes.

A quarter of an hour later much the same thing happened again. Another
flock, passing overhead, came clamouring