olive colour, with tints of
brown on the other parts. They were busily employed in eating fallen
fruits, and picking up worms and insects, running about here and there
at a great rate. Curious to observe them, he hid himself behind a tree,
when he saw some, evidently hens, hopping to the top of a large mound,
where having scraped away the earth to a considerable depth, they each
deposited an egg, covering it up again with the greatest care.

"Oh, oh!" thought Dick, "if your eggs are fit to eat, I shall have a
good store of provision," and going to the mound he soon shovelled away
the earth, beneath which he found a good number of eggs. These he
deposited carefully in a handkerchief, wrapping them up with leaves, to
prevent them breaking.

The birds were a species of megapode, which are found chiefly in
Australia and Borneo and the intermediate islands. They are allied to
the gallinaceous birds but differ from them in never sitting upon their
eggs, which, thus buried in vegetable rubbish, are left to be hatched by
heat and fermentation. It is said that a number of birds unite in
forming these mounds, and lay their eggs together, but take no further
care of their offspring. As soon as the little birds are hatched, they
run away from the mound, and at once begin picking up food suitable to
them, trusting to their speed to escape from their foes. Dick, of
course, knew nothing of this, but was well satisfied at finding so large
a supply of fresh-laid eggs. He was also not aware that it was the very
mound from which Lord Reginald had obtained the only food, besides
shell-fish, he had been able to procure since his arrival in the island.
Dick would certainly not otherwise have carried them off. Reaching the
sea-shore, he turned back, for fear of encountering Lord Reginald, as he
had no wish to have another interview with one who received his advances
so ill.

"I suppose that he will manage to kill or trap some of those birds for
himself," he thought, "or, if he is hard up, that he'll come back and
ask my assistance. Meantime I must see what I can do for myself."
After hunting about and trying a number of trees, he selected four
branches of wood, on which he meant to try experiments to ascertain
which was most suited for a crossbow. The stock and string he would
have no difficulty in forming. He had the whole plan clearly in his
head, and now he had got the eggs, which would last him for two or three
days, he was