On explaining this plan to Mr. Hardy,
he said that he had no doubt that it would succeed in capturing
birds, but that when caught it would be impossible to tame
full-grown wild-fowl, and that the only plan was to find their
nests, and take the eggs or very young birds. This they determined
to do; and as the bushes close to the river were too thick to
permit an examination from the shore, they started one morning
early, and, going down to the river, entered it, and waded along
for a considerable distance. They discovered two swans' nests, and
several of different descriptions of ducks. In some the birds were
sitting upon their eggs, in others the young brood were just
hatched, and scuttled away into the bushes with the parent birds
upon being disturbed.
Charley and Hubert made no remark at breakfast upon the success of
their expedition; but when Charley went two days after to Rosario,
he procured from Mr. Percy, who kept a quantity of chickens, two
sitting hens. These were placed with their nests in the bullock
cart in a hamper; and Mrs. Hardy, who had no idea of the purpose to
which they were to be put, was quite pleased, on their arrival at
Mount Pleasant, at this addition to the henhouse. Indeed it had
been long agreed that they would keep hens as soon as the maize was
ripe.
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