t how about the birds, the eider-ducks and kittiwakes?" said I. "We
should find them more palatable than sea-horse--to begin with."

"Very well: you and Weymouth might go round the island to the left. It
can't be more than a mile and a half or two miles. But do be prudent
of your cartridges."

_Boom!_

Raed and Kit, with Wade and Donovan, then got into the boat, and
pulled off round the islet to the right; while Weymouth and I,
reloading our muskets, set off on our bird-hunt.

The west end of the island was considerably higher than the eastern
portion. As we went on, we espied scores of little auks sitting upon
the low cliffs.

"No use to waste powder on them," said Weymouth.

"But see there!" suddenly halting. "If those ain't geese, I'm
mistaken,--out there on that gravel-flat, waddling along. Ain't those
geese?"

Wild-geese they were, or, as some call them, Canada geese; nearly as
large as our domestic geese, and of a gray slate-color. They did not
seem to fear our approach much. We walked quietly up to fifty yards.

"I'll take that big gander," I said.

"All right," quoth Weymouth. "I'll take a goose."

We fired at them with a careful aim. Over went the gander and a goose.
The rest flew with loud squallings, save one with a broken wing, which
Weymouth rushed after, and pelted to death with stones.

"A pretty good haul!" he exclaimed, holding them up. "Weigh eight or
ten pounds apiece. But I didn't expect to see wild-geese up here," he
added.

We saw several flocks of them after that.

Half a mile farther round, we came upon a flock of razor-bills perched
on the cliffs overhanging the water. They rose, and went croaking off
toward the next islet, distant about three hundred yards, too quick
for us to fire with caution.

"The sealers often get their eggs," Weymouth observed. "They're good
fried, they say."

It then occurred to me that these eggs might be a very good and
cheaply--as regarded ammunition--obtained article of food for us.
Laying down our guns, we climbed up among the rocks, and spent nearly
an hour searching for their nests. At length Weymouth found one with
three eggs; and, a few moments after, two more. I had some doubt about
the eggs being good so late in the season. There were plenty of empty
nests about, looking as if there had been a brood raised already.
These were doubtless second nests of pairs that had lost their first
nests from the depredations of falcons, ravens, or perhaps