hat, while a stone flung by the steady hand of Hector stunned the
parent bird. The boys laughed exultingly as they displayed their
prizes to the astonished Catharine, who, in spite of hunger, could not
help regretting the death of the mother bird. Girls and women rarely
sympathize with men and boys in their field sports, and Hector laughed
at his sister's doleful looks as he handed over the bird to her.

"It was a lucky chance," said he, "and the stone was well aimed, but
it is not the first partridge that I have killed in this way. They are
so stupid you may even run them down at times; I hope to get another
before the day is over.

"Well, there is no fear of starving to-day, at all events," he added,
as he inspected the contents of his cousin's hat; "twelve nice fresh
eggs, a bird, and plenty of fruit."

"But how shall we cook the bird and the eggs? We have no means of
getting a fire made," said Catharine.

"As to the eggs," said Louis, "we can eat them raw; it is not for
hungry wanderers like us to be over-nice about our food."

"They would satisfy us much better were they boiled, or roasted in the
ashes," observed Hector.

"True. Well, a fire, I think, can be got with a little trouble."

"But how?" asked Hector.

"Oh, there are many ways, but the readiest would be a flint with the