or duck-food for the grown wild ducks,
and no blackfish or worms or gnat-eggs for the ducklings. Then the
reed-banks would disappear--where now the ducklings conceal themselves
until they are able to fly. All ducks would be compelled to move away
from here and seek another home. But where shall they find a retreat
like Takern? Caesar, say that Clawina has not heard aright!"

It was extraordinary to watch Caesar's behaviour during this
conversation. He had been wide-awake the whole time before, but now,
when Jarro turned to him, he panted, laid his long nose on his forepaws,
and was sound asleep within the wink of an eyelid.

The cat looked down at Caesar with a knowing smile. "I believe that
Caesar doesn't care to answer you," she said to Jarro. "It is with him
as with all dogs; they will never acknowledge that humans can do any
wrong. But you can rely upon my word, at any rate. I shall tell you why
they wish to drain the lake just now. As long as you wild ducks still
had the power on Takern, they did not wish to drain it, for, at least,
they got some good out of you; but now, grebes and coots and other birds
who are no good as food, have infested nearly all the reed-banks, and
the people don't think they need let the lake remain on their account."

Jarro didn't trouble himself to answer Clawina, but raised his head, and
shouted in Caesar's ear: "Caesar! You know that on Takern there are
still so many ducks left that they fill the air like clouds. Say it
isn't true that human beings intend to make all of these homeless!"

Then Caesar sprang up with such a sudden outburst at Clawina that she
had to save herself by jumping up on a shelf. "I'll teach you to keep
quiet when I want to sleep," bawled Caesar. "Of course I know that there
is some talk about draining the lake this year. But there's been talk of
this many times before without anything coming of it. And that draining
business is a matter in which I take no stock whatever. For how would it
go with the game if Takern were laid waste. You're a donkey to gloat
over a thing like that. What will you and I have to amuse ourselves
with, when there are no more birds on Takern?"

THE DECOY-DUCK

_Sunday, April seventeenth_.

A couple of days later Jarro was so well that he could fly all about the
house. Then he was petted a good deal by the mistress, and the little
boy ran out in the yard and plucked the first grass-blades for him which
had sprung up. When the mistr