Part 5 (1/2)

At the end of a three hours' row they turned the skiff to the sloping rock of an island shore, and landing, tied the painter to a big bowlder

”This is a fine egg island,” said Jihtbirds rose in every direction as they approached, and clouds of gulls circled around crying the alar the shore they saw et theenerally well out of reach

”They're too small to bother with anyway,” said Jioes an eider duck! And another!

And another! _Their_ eggs are fine and big! Let's find the nests!”

Presently they discovered, under a low, scrubby bush, a down-lined nest containing eight greenish-drab eggs

”There's one!” shouted Ji the bushes and rocks, they soon had their bags filled with eider duck, tern, gull, and booby eggs, while the birds in hundreds flew hither and thither, violently protesting, with discordant notes, the invasion and the looting But the eggs were good to eat, and the boys smacked their lips over the feasts in store--and Mrs Abel wanted them; that was the chief consideration, after all

”Now,” said Jio over to the mainland and boil the kettle

It's away past dinner tireed Bobby ”I'o?”

”I know a dandy place over here, and there's a brook coood water It's just a few es”

Ten ravelly beach near the h a deep gulch To the eastward the gulch banks rose into high cliffs which overhung the sea Kittiwakes, tube-nosed swiulls, cor up and down and along the cliff's face, or perching upon ledges on the rock, and, like the birds on the island, reat deal of discordant noise

”It seeh there were no end of birds,” said Bobby, as they secured their boat ”I'd like to see what kind of nests thoseto look at soet up there,” said Jiood care to leave their eggs where nobody can get at the to try, anyhow,” Bobby declared, as he turned to the brook for a kettle of water

”I e had sos in,” said he, as he set the kettle of water down by Jis for the fire

”What's thethe skiff?” Jih to hurt”

”That's so!” said Bobby ”We can boil 'em in that”

With the ax--in this country men never venture fro it is often a life saver--Jimmy split sos from the dry heart He stopped his knife just short of the end of the stick, until six or eight long, thin shavings were made, then, with a twist of the blade, he broke off the stub with the shavings attached to it Thus the shavings were held in a bunch

Several of these bunches hepatiently, for patience and care are as necessary in building a fire as in doing anything else, and Skipper Ed had taught him that whatever he did should be done with all the care possible And so in s and placing of sticks as though it had been so it in this way he seldolein the open is a fine art

When Jis for his purpose, he placed two of his split sticks upon the ground at right angles to each other, an end of one close up to the end of the other Then, holding a bunch of shavings by the thick, or stub, end, he struck awell placed the unlighted end upon the two sticks where they s he laid on this, the thin ends in the blaze, the thick ends elevated upon the sticks

Then caer splits, and in afire

He now secured a pole six or seven feet in length, and fixed one end firround, with the other end sloped over the fire On this he hung first, by its bale, the old bailing kettle, filled ater, and then the tea pail, in such a way as to bring theh the fire was a small one, it was not many minutes before the kettles boiled Then while Bobby dropped half a dozen eggs into the bailing kettle, Jimmy lifted the tea pail off, put some tea into it, and set it by the fire to brew