“What’s that?” ejaculated Jim. “It seems to come right out of the ground.”
Getting on their knees, the boys searched everywhere among the rocks, expecting to find some strange creature in hiding there, but while they searched diligently, and although the queer grunting sounds continued, they could find no trace of any living thing. Puzzled, they stopped hunting and listened, placing their ears to the ground, trying to trace the sounds, but to no purpose, for the noises seemed to come from all about and were so mysterious and baffling that the boys began to feel nervous.
“It’s the weirdest thing I ever heard,” declared Tom. “I’m beginning to think the place’s haunted.”
At last, giving it up as a bad job, the two boys started forward and a moment later clambered down over a projecting mass of huge irregular rocks. The next instant they stopped short, for the baffling sounds came clear and distinct from among the rocks. Approaching cautiously, the boys peered into the dark cavelike openings and the next moment burst into laughter.
“There’s the ghost,” exclaimed Jim, “I wonder what they are.” Far in among the bowlders were several snow-white birds with pretty pinkish or salmon-colored bills and bright, beady eyes. Reaching in his arm, Tom seized one of the creatures, and despite its protests, drew it out and revealed two handsome brown eggs where it had been sitting.
“Oh, I know now,” declared Tom. “It’s a sheathbill, don’t you remember Cap’n Pem pointed them out to us at sea. Look, here’s the sheath on its bill.”
Satisfied at having solved the mystery of the strange sounds, and having identified the bird, the boys released the creature which immediately fluttered back to its nest, ruffling its feathers and croaking in such an indignant, offended way that the boys roared with laughter. Continuing down the hill, the boys approached the first of the great bird colony in the valley and found they were big, white Molly Mokes and another species of bird which they had not seen before.
“They’re some sort of albatrosses,” insisted Tom. “But they’re not like the others. They’re smaller and have bright yellow beaks and they’re much whiter.”
“Yes, and they’ve greeny-brown eyes instead of blue,” added Jim.
“I’ll bet I know what they are,” Tom announced “I’ve been thinking, and I remember reading about a kind of albatross called yellow-nosed. These have yellow noses so I’ll bet that’s what they are.”