The secret trails . S wild fight against the unseen fate, was drawndown after him into the shadowed a little flat-bottomed boat, or ducking-punt, with a man crouching in the bottom ofit, came worming its way through the narrowlane of water between the stems of the man seized her by the dangerous beak,jerked her into the punt, put his knee uponher neck, detached the noose of a copper-wiresnare from her leg, drew a keen hunting-knife, and deftly sliced the snowy plumesfrom the flesh of her back. Then he hurled her out into the open water,that she might not be in his way whi
The secret trails . S wild fight against the unseen fate, was drawndown after him into the shadowed a little flat-bottomed boat, or ducking-punt, with a man crouching in the bottom ofit, came worming its way through the narrowlane of water between the stems of the man seized her by the dangerous beak,jerked her into the punt, put his knee uponher neck, detached the noose of a copper-wiresnare from her leg, drew a keen hunting-knife, and deftly sliced the snowy plumesfrom the flesh of her back. Then he hurled her out into the open water,that she might not be in his way while herearranged the snare upon the edge of thenest in order to catch her mate. Half stunned, and altogether bewildered byher agony, the mother egret flapped blindlyupon the top of the water, her snowy plum-age crimsoned with her life-blood. After afew moments she succeeded in getting into theair. Flying heavily, and lurching as shewent, she flew across the lagoon, blunderedin among the bushes, and fell with her legs. The mother egret flapped blindly upon the top of the water. THE AIGRETTE 85 in the water, her twitching wings entangled inthe branches. There, after a few vain strug-gles, she lay still, dying slowly—very slowly—her beak half open, but her eyes wide andundaunted. Not long afterwards the male egret, whohad been fishing far down the lagoon, andknew nothing of what had happened, cameback to the nest with food. He, too, wascaught in the fatal snare, dragged down,scalped of his nuptial plumes as the red sav-age of old scalped his enemies, and thrownaway to die at his leisure. The law of thatcountry forbade the shooting of the egrets inthe nesting season, when alone they worethe plumes which women crave. The plume-hunter, therefore, felt that he was evading thelaw successfully if he hacked the prize fromthe living bird and released it while still aliveand able to fly. If the bird died agonizinglyafterwards, who was going to swear that hewas the slayer? Throughout the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1921
