ON HIS WAY TO THE NEST WITH A POUCH FULL OF FISH.
Thus did Tony and his little sister catch their first sight of the great Snowy Egret. After that, having once found their way to its haunts, they often came to the hidden pond, to watch the egrets at their nest-building, taking care never to alarm them. At first the egrets, which are shy, did not like the children so near, especially in nesting time. Often, the male egret would hover over the old dugout, calling down impatiently, "Cruk, cruk, cruk," which meant plainly enough, "Go away, go away, go away." But the children came so often, that the egrets, even the blue heron tribes and other water-fowl, became accustomed to the old boat, and did not mind its coming and going.
It was an exciting time for the children when the little egrets came; then Tony and Papita came every day. They watched the feeding of the babies and heard the old egret call, "Cruk, cruk, cruk" on his way back to the nest with a pouch full of little fish. Soon the little egrets raised themselves in the nest and called back eagerly, "Kek, kek, kek," which Tony said meant, "More, more, more."
And now comes the sad part of my story, but it must be told, because every boy and girl should learn about the peril of the beautiful Snowy Egret, and know what happened to these wonderful "angel birds" which Tony and Papita so loved and watched.
It was Tony who learned about it first, so he told Papita one night before they went to sleep, up aloft in their shack, where the stars had a way of peeping in through the board roof and winking at them.
"Those men with guns, Papita, I don't like," complained Tony bitterly. "They shoot all our birds in the swamp. Once I see long, white feathers. They're angel bird feathers, I think, only not white—no, all black with swamp mire. I see plenty and some were red, Papita, red with blood. One man, the big one, he laugh and say, 'Plenty money for these fine plumes.'"
"What for they get those angel bird feathers, Tony?" asked Papita anxiously.
"Huh, I hear grand ladies buy white angel feathers, to make them fine," replied Tony. "But no one could ever be so beautiful as our angel birds."
"Oh, Tony, what if these bad men shoot our angel birds?" Papita's voice trembled.