. Wild nature's ways . lt inthe cramped quarters afforded by the shamboulder, and suffered indescribable agonies in mynether limbs whilst the curlew walked round andround, getting tantalisingly nearer and nearer,and making me believe that another ten minutesof waiting would put an end to my misery; butit did not. and I was very reluctantly compelledto irive in and admit defeat. Durinsr the last o o half hour or two the pain in my knees was soexcruciating that I was (paradoxical as it maysound) only sustained by cowardice, or, in otherwords, a lack of the necessary courage to acknow-ledge failu
. Wild nature's ways . lt inthe cramped quarters afforded by the shamboulder, and suffered indescribable agonies in mynether limbs whilst the curlew walked round andround, getting tantalisingly nearer and nearer,and making me believe that another ten minutesof waiting would put an end to my misery; butit did not. and I was very reluctantly compelledto irive in and admit defeat. Durinsr the last o o half hour or two the pain in my knees was soexcruciating that I was (paradoxical as it maysound) only sustained by cowardice, or, in otherwords, a lack of the necessary courage to acknow-ledge failure. The long wait had worked such havoc withmy legs that I fell down and helplessly rolledover twice whilst descending a steep hillside to 28 ^yILD NATURES WAYS. my uncles house, but that temporary incon-venience was not half so important as the lessonI had learnt in regard to the folly of waiting fora shy bird perfectly aware of my presence insuch close proximity to her nest. The following morning my uncle accompanied. CURLEW SITTING WITH HALF-CLOSED EYES me to the scene of action, and after tucking meup and placing a stone or two on the top of theartificial rock so as to make it look more realistic,walked ostentatiously away across the pasturewith a couple of collie dogs at his heels. He hadnot taken his departure more than fifteen minutesbefore the curlew was, to my unbounded delight,walking sedately on to her eggs. Just beforesitting down, the bird stood and gazed thought-fully at all that could be seen of the lens, whicli
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