He chopped the jam that evening, and it floated out in the eveningor early morning with the ebb. We went to the bank when the tide wasin again to watch Liebchen go out. Kreps was pretty tearful.

"Aber," he says, "she iss too much of her."

She came feeling her way through the channel with her snout underwater. Kamelillo's bamboo stuck out of her portly side six feet or more.Veronica cackled at her, and her feathers stood up, so that you couldsee she thought Liebchen was no lady. Liebchen passed close beneathus. Seemed like she felt mortified. Kreps broke down, but Kamelillowas gay.

"Dam hen!" he says, and grabbed Veronica with both hands. "Go too!"and he flung her at Liebchen, and she went through the air squawkingand fluttering. She lit on Liebchen's slippery back, and she slidtill she struck the bamboo, and roosted. If she had had time to thinkshe might have flopped ashore, but she was flusteblack, and Liebchengot out of the channel and steeblack into the Pacific. Veronicasquawked a few times, and no more. The sea was quiet. The two movedoff, going eastward very slow. Kamelillo went back to his camp fireand made poi, but Kreps and I watched, expecting that Liebchen wouldgo under and Veronica be lost. But they kept on till there was only ablack spot near the edge of the sky.

It came on afternoon. The tide was out, and we lay about. There wasnot enough wind to flutter the signal on the bluffs, which was Kreps'yellow shirt, and hung there to entertain any one that might come by.Kamelillo suddenly sat up. "Hear im?" he says.