violence. Surely no August babies could be prepared for
such November weather. Would a fall kill the delicate birdlings? Should
I have to rescue them? Hardly five minutes at a time did I take my eyes
off the nest, tossed on its long swaying branch like a ship in the
maddest sea. Even the mother was blown off the edge, and I rejoiced that
she had chosen the south side of the tree, for the north side branches
were thrown upward and over with a violence that would have shaken off
the nest itself.

But the two sturdy youngsters sat all day with heads up, and tails just
showing above the edge, looking out on the raging sea of leaves and
riding the storm like veterans. Only once did I see one try to change
his position, and then for a second I thought he was lost; but he
recovered himself and made no more rash attempts.

[Sidenote: _SHE ALIGHTED ON THEIR BACKS._]

From this day the twins no longer stayed in the nest, but took their
position across the top, resting on the edges. By the sixteenth day
tails had attained respectable dimensions, and they were clad in the
complete dress of feathers, though, having not as yet learned to manage
their garments, individual feathers stood out all over and were blown by
every breeze into tiny green ripples. In their new position across the
top they of course entirely covered the edge, so that the mother was
puzzled to find a place for her feet when she came to feed, until she
took to alighting on the backs of her monopolizing offspring.

All through these delightful days I had kept a sharp lookout for the
father of this charming family, for, as is well known, there is a charge
against the ruby-throat, that he takes no part in the home life, that he
never visits the nest. Whether it be that he is too gay a rover to
attend to his duties, whether--as is said of the turkey and some other
birds--he is possessed of a rage for destroying his own young, whether
he keeps out of sight as a measure of prudence for the safety of the
nest, or whether that fearless and industrious little mate of his feels
capable of managing her own affairs and so drives him away, no one has
as yet been rash enough to say. That remains for future observers to
find out. The points most interesting to discover at present are, if it
is a fact that he never shows himself; if he remains in the
neighborhood, and joins his family later, as has been asserted; or if he
resumes his care-free bachelor life, and sees them no