Page:The romance of Runnibede (IA romanceofrunnibe00rudd).pdf/58

from the reeds and rushes."By gad!" we sighed, "if we only had guns!"

We cooeed again, and the heads of black divers and turtle bobbed up inquisitively from beneath the blue water. Shy waterhens called to their mates and fluttered close in to the high bank for safety. And up in the trees overhanging the water, gay plumaged parrots, jabbering among the blossoms, lifted their heads and screamed.

Concluding that the Governor must have gone on down the creek to meet the mob there, we fastened the ponies to the branch of a tree and started out to hunt round the lagoon and kill time till the travelling bullocks would come along. Hardly had we fastened the reins when two curlews rose suddenly from the ground, and with spread wings flew at us aggressively. We knew at once that their nest was somewhere thereabouts, else our presence wouldn't concern them so, Then we became bent on finding it, no matter if there were a hundred curlews weep- ing and flapping their wings at us. So, while the two old birds stood a short distance away on their long thin legs, watching us anxiously, we hunted round and jumped about like two bloodhounds.

"Here it is! I found it! It’s mine! Three eggs!" And Ted dropped to his knees amongst some short brown grass tufts that afforded but little shelter for a nest of any kind.

I leaned over the back of him and viewed the find.

"Look out! Keep them old beggars away!" he shouted, as the parent birds, half-running, half flying, advanced to the attack again.