The Swan and Her Crew
Page 18
CHAPTER XVI.
Old School fellows.--Tom-tit's Nest in Boot.--Nuthatch.-- Wryneck.--Ant-hill.--Marsh-Tit.--A Comical Fix.
As the _Swan_ was brought up to her moorings at the Staithe the boys whowere assembled on the green before the front of the house rushed down toinspect the strange boat and then to claim acquaintanceship with Frankand Jimmy. They were their old school-fellows, and were glad to seetheir old companions again. They swarmed over the yacht, criticisingher, and asking questions about her and the cruise of the boys.
Marston, a great big fellow, dived into the cabin exclaiming, "What ajolly little box!" and sat down on a berth to see how it felt. Nosooner, however, had he sat down than he jumped up and out on deck, asquickly as a Jack in a box does when the spring is touched, at the sametime uttering a howl of pain.
"What is the matter?" said Frank.
"I do not know," answered Marston, poking his head into the cabin againto see what was there, while he rubbed his back disconsolately. The factof the matter was that he had sat down in the corner where the hawkswere, and they, seeing an inviting bit of bare flesh between thewaistband of his breeches and his jersey, had saluted him with a _one_,_two_, of very remarkable poignancy.
Jimmy's delight at this incident was unbounded. He felt now that he wasamply repaid for the damage to his own big toe. When the general laughat this incident had subsided, Marston said:--
"I say, Frank, we are going to row a race with the Norwich Rowing Club.A four-oared race; it comes off the day after to-morrow; and mostunfortunately our No. 3 has sprained his wrist and cannot row, and wedid not know what to do. We have no other man big enough to take hisplace who is in condition. We were discussing the matter as you came up.Now, you are a good rower; will you row for us?"
Frank was pleased at the invitation, especially as it was backed up bythe others most cordially; but he said--
"I have not rowed for so long a time that I am quite out of condition."
"Oh, nonsense, you look in perfect condition. If you have been out for aweek's yachting you must be in capital condition. Do row, or we shalllose the race to a certainty."
"You had better row, Frank," said both Jim and Dick together, but hestill hesitated.
"Come, Dick," said Jim, "let us go and birds'-nest in the wood whileFrank listens to the voice of the charmer."
So off they went, leaving Frank and the others to settle the questionbetween them.
Behind the inn there rose a steep wood-crowned bank, and it was to thisthat the two boys directed their steps. On their way they passed askittle-alley, and Dick said to the man in charge--
"Can you show us any birds' nests?"
"Yes, I can show you one in a very rum place. Look into that old pair ofboots hanging against the wall."
They did so, and to their surprise a tom-tit flew out, and upon closerinspection they found its nest in one of the boots, and in the nesttwelve tiny white eggs.
"These are master's marsh-boots, but when he found that the birds hadbegun to build in them, he gave orders that no one was to touch themuntil the birds had hatched off their young ones."
TOM-TIT AND EGG.]
Tom-tits have a knack of building their nests in strange places. Insidea pillar letter-box, where letters were being tossed every day; in ahole in a door-post, which was closed when the door was shut, so thatthe birds were shut up during the night; in the pocket of a gardener'scoat hanging on a nail. Such are the places in which master tom-titsometimes builds his nest. Even more curious, however, was a nest I readof which was built by a fly-catcher in the spring of a bell, whichvibrated twenty times a day when the bell was rung.
When they reached the wood, Dick's attention was attracted by themovements of a bird with a slaty blue back and fawn-coloured belly,which was flitting about the trunk of a large beech-tree.
"What bird is that, Jimmy?" he asked.
"It is a nuthatch. Let us watch it, and perhaps we may see its nest."
NUTHATCH.]
After a little while they saw it disappear into a hole in a neighbouringtree. Going up to this, they found that it was its nest, and that it wasmade after a fashion peculiar to these pretty birds. The nest was builtin a hole in a tree, but the hole being larger than was required by thebirds, they had built up the entrance with mud, like that which forms aswallow's nest, leaving an aperture only just large enough for the oldbirds to get in and out. Dick got on Jimmy's shoulders, and broke away apiece of mud, so that he could get his hand in.
"There are five eggs, white with brown spots, and I have caught the oldbird on."
"Let her go, and take two of the eggs; I know Frank hasn't got any."
Dick did so, and then moistening the piece of mud which he had removed,in a little pool which was near, he fixed it very neatly in its properplace again.
Proceeding a little further, they saw a bird about as big as a nuthatch,but very different in appearance. It had a curiously mottled andbrown-lined back. Every now and then it descended to the ground, andflew back again to a hole in a decayed poplar, varying the journey withwanderings up and down the trunk of that and adjacent trees. As it didso, it stretched forth its head and twisted its neck about in a verypeculiar fashion.
WRYNECK.]
"That can be nothing else but a wryneck," said Jimmy, noticing itsmovement. "Its nest must be in that hole; but what is it picking fromthe ground?"
WORKING ANT AND PORTION OF ANT-HILL.]
Underneath a large fir-tree was a big conical heap of straw and leaves.Upon examination it was found to be swarming with largechestnut-coloured ants. It was a nest of the wood-ant, and thousands ofthe tiny creatures were busy dragging straws and sticks to build up thenest, or grains of wheat or other food. It was a grand feast for thewryneck, which had been picking up the ants' eggs, and carrying them toits young ones. The boys stood for some time looking at the busy heap,until from looking at the whole together they came to selectingparticular ants and speculating on their destination, for every ant hada purpose in going and coming. One about a foot from the hill wastugging a piece of straw which was evidently too large for him to pullalong unassisted, so he left it, and presently returned with acompanion, and the two together managed to take the straw alongcapitally. Dick was much struck with this incident, which looked morelike reason than instinct. And he would have stayed longer watching theants, had not Jimmy been in a hurry to climb up to the wryneck's nest,and he could not do without Dick's help, who had to give him a back.When he got up he very nearly came down again, so startled was he tohear a loud hissing in the hole like that of a snake. The wryneck flewoff, and as there could not be a bird and a snake together in the hole,he concluded that the bird had made the noise with intention tofrighten him, and he boldly put his hand into the hole and popped hisfingers into the gaping mouths of some young wrynecks. He neverthelessfelt carefully about, in hope of finding an addled egg, and he was notdisappointed. There were two addled eggs, which he brought down insafety. They were pure white, about the size of a swift's.
EGG OF WRYNECK.]
They now came to something in Dick's line. On a tall nettle-top sat asmall tortoiseshell butterfly opening and shutting its wings with thefanning motion peculiar to its tribe. The rays of sunlight fallingthrough the foliage of the trees overhead lit up the beauty of its redand black wings. Dick had not his net with him, so taking off his cap,he made after the butterfly, which launched into strong flight, andsailed away out of the wood and over the meadows with Dick in hotpursuit.
Jimmy went on rambling through the wood, and presently saw a small treewhich divided into two branches about a dozen feet from the ground. Atthis fork of the tree it was split some distance down, and, in thissplit, some moss betokened a nest of some kind. Jimmy threw a stone up,and as it clattered against the tree, a bird like a tom-tit, but with ablack head, flew out. Jimmy watched it as it fluttered about thebranches of the tree a few yards off, and soon came to the conclusionthat it was a marsh-tit, and that its eggs were wort
h having.
MARSH TIT AND EGG.]
He accordingly climbed up the tree, and found that he could not reachthe nest, which was too far down in the slit. By dint, however, ofsitting on one of the forks, and pushing with all his might at theother, he succeeded in opening the crack wide enough for him to inserthis hand and reach the nest. It contained eight eggs, white spottedwith red. He took four of them, and sitting in the fork of the tree, heblew them and put them in his box. Then he thought of descending, andattempted to jump to the ground. To his astonishment he found himselfbrought up sharp, and then he saw that his trousers had caught in theslit, and that a large portion of the slack of them behind was firmlywedged in; and there he hung with his legs dangling in the air withludicrous helplessness. He tried to haul himself up again, but he was insuch an awkward position that he could not do it. He tried to open thecrack with his hands, but with the weight of his body on the one sideinstead of in the middle, this could not be done. In despair he let gowith his hands, in the hope that his trousers would tear and that hewould fall to the ground; but they were too stout for that, and he onlynarrowly escaped turning topsy turvy and hanging in a worse position.Then he fell to laughing vigorously at the comical scrape he had gotinto. He did not laugh long, however, for he was very uncomfortable, andkick and struggle as he would, he could not get free. Then he felt moreinclined to cry than he ever had done in his life before. It was so veryhumiliating to be hung up there like a cockchafer at the end of a pin.When he found he could not get down by himself he began to shout forhelp.
"Dick, Dick, Dick!" but no Dick came. The fact was that Dick who hadbeen unsuccessful in his chase after the butterfly, had returned to thespot from whence he started, and then not seeing Jimmy about, heconcluded that he had gone back to the others--and all the time Jimmywas still up in the tree shouting lustily. Dick heard an inarticulateshouting, but never for one moment imagined it came from Jimmy. When,however, he saw that Jimmy was not with the others, he thought of theshouting; and they all went in search of the missing one, and when theyfound him they went into such fits of laughter that for some time no onecould help him.
"Oh dear, Jimmy, you will be the death of me! This is worse than the bigtoe affair," said Frank.
"I say," said Jimmy, "don't tell anyone at home about this, there's agood fellow."
"All right, I won't."
Frank had agreed to row in the race, and while Jimmy and Dick sailed theyacht up to Norwich, he went for a racing spin in the four-oar, andfound that he was in much better condition than he had thought.
When they reached Norwich they found some letters awaiting them. Frankafter reading his, said,--
"Hallo, Master Dick, you never said that you were going to send that dogyou bought at Mutford to my sister Mary."
"Didn't I?" answered Dick blushing.
"No, of course you didn't. Well, here is a message for you from her; shesays, 'Tell Dick that I am very much obliged to him for the prettylittle dog. He is a sweet little dear, but he soon got into a scrape. Hewent into the laundry and ate up the blue-bag, flannel and all, and heisn't a bit the worse, although Florrie says she is sure his white coatwill turn blue.'"