upon it like a cat. The decision of the referee was prompt, but even
so, it was almost lost in the sudden stir and murmur which arose behind
us.

Some one came pushing through the crowd, evidently having sprung down
from one of the carriages. I turned to see a young girl, clad in white
lawn, a thin silver-gray veil drawn tight under her chin, who now pushed
forward through the men, and ran up to the black boy who stood with the
bird in his hand, hanging by one wing. She caught it from him, and held
it against her breast, where its blood drabbled her gown and hands. I
remember I saw one drop of blood at its beak, and remember how glad I
was that the bird was in effect dead, so that a trying scene would soon
be ended.

"Stop this at once!" cried the girl, raising an imperative hand. "Aren't
you ashamed, all of you? Look, look at this!" She held out the dying
bird in her hand. "Judge Reeves," she cried, "what are you doing there?"

Our decisive referee grew suddenly abashed. "Ah--ah, my dear young
lady--my very dear young lady," he began.

"Captain Stevenson," exclaimed the girl, whirling suddenly on my second,
"stop this at once! I'm ashamed of you."

"Now, now, my dear Miss Ellen," began Stevenson, "can't you be a good
fellow and run back home? We're off the reservation, and really--this,
you see, is a judge of the Supreme Court! We're doing nothing unlawful."
He motioned toward Judge Reeves, who looked suddenly uncomfortable.

Major Williams added his counsel. "It is a little sport between Captain
Orme and Mr. Cowles, Miss Ellen."

"Sport, great sport, isn't it?" cried the girl, holding out her drabbled
hands. "Look there"--she pointed toward the pile of dead
birds--"hundreds of these killed, for money, for sport. It _isn't_
sport. You had all these birds once, you owned them."

And there she hit a large truth, with a woman's guess, although none of
us had paused to consider it so before.

"The law, Miss Ellen," began Judge Reeves, clearing his throat, "allows
the reducing to possession of animals _feroe naturoe_, that is to say,
of wild nature, and ancient custom sanctions it."

"They were already _reduced_" she flashed. "The sport was in getting
them the first time, not in butchering them afterward."

Stevenson and Williams rubbed their chins and looked at each other. As
for me, I was looking at the girl; for it seemed to me that never in my
life had I seen one so beautiful.

Her hair, reddish brown in