Part 14 (2/2)

So cor rock upon which the sun beat war thes half open and feathers erect, drying theluttonous content

Birds were everywhere--black, black and white, black and grey, and grey and white, with here and there a few that looked black in the distance, but when inspected through the glass proved to be of a deep bronzy reen

But while the air and rocks were alive with objects that delighted the watcher's eye, there was plenty to see beside Close in where the deep water was nearly still, the jelly-fish floated at every depth, shrinking and expanding like so listening with iridescent hues Farther out the smooth, vividly-blue water every now and then turned in patches from sapphire to purple, and a patch--a whole acre perhaps in extent--became of the darkest purple or amethyst, all of a fret and work, while silvery flashes played all over it, reflecting the rays of the burning sun For plenty of shoals of fish were feeding, over which the birds were rising, falling, darting and splashi+ng, as they banqueted upon their silvery prey

All this was so fa it, he satisfied hilass he had brought, he began to sweep the coast wherever he could command it from where he sat

The opposite side of the rift see soh up or loards the sea; or maybe his attention was riveted upon so patiently for the next visit ofat a solitary greatly-blotched egg, big at one end, going off to al in the soft curves of ordinary eggs, while he wondered hoas that such an egg should not blow out of its rocky hollohen the wind came, but spin round as upon a pivot instead

Anyhow, Aleck atching the other side of the half-e-shaped depression in the coast-line, looking straight across at a spot about a hundred yards distant in the level, though higher up it was too, and going off to nothing at the bottom, where the place looked like the dried-up bed of a river

All at once he started and nearly dropped the glass, as he wrenched hiruff voice had suddenly cried:

”Hullo!”

The nextin a fierce pair of very dark eyes belonging to a swarthy, scowling, sea-tanned face, the lower part of which was clothed in a crisp black beard, as black as the short head of hair

This head of hair of course belonged to around bullet head peering down froes, while on both sides, apparently not heeding the head in the least, dozens of wild fowl sat sole of parent birds

”Hullo!” cried the head again

”Hullo!” retorted Aleck, as gruffly as he could, after recovering fro?”

”Oh! ay, it'sthere?”

”Now?” said Aleck, coolly ”Looking up at your black face”

”Black face, eh, youngster? Perhaps other people ha' got black faces too What ha' you been doing of--tu it on for another tumble”

Aleck flushed a little at the allusion to his injured face, feeling guilty too, as it struck hiht the allusion upon himself, a Rowland for his Oliver, on the principle that those who play at bowls must expect rubbers

”No, I haven't had a tu to tumble,” he said, testily ”I daresay I can clister, and p'raps you can't; but, if you do want to break your neck, stop at home and do it, and don't conantly ”Why not? I've as good a right here as you have, so none of your insolence”

”Oh, no, you haven't All along here's our egging-ground, and we don't want our birds disturbed”

”Your egging-ground--your birds!” cried Aleck, indignantly ”Why, I do call that cool You'll be telling me next that the fish in the sea are yours, and that I mustn't whiff or lay a fish-pot or traear I hev knowed folk as fished on other people's ground finding a hole knocked in the bottoms of their boats”