They seemed to follow a fixed route. There
were ducks and gray geese, surf-scoters and guillemots, loons and
pin-tail ducks and mergansers and grebes and oyster-catchers and
sea-grouse. But now, when the boy leaned forward, and looked in the
direction where the sea ought to lie, he saw the whole bird procession
reflected in the water. But he was so dizzy that he didn't understand
how this had come about: he thought that the whole bird procession flew
with their bellies upside down. Still he didn't wonder at this so much,
for he did not himself know which was up, and which was down.
The birds were tired out and impatient to get on. None of them shrieked
or said a funny thing, and this made everything seem peculiarly unreal.
"Think, if we have travelled away from the earth!" he said to himself.
"Think, if we are on our way up to heaven!"
He saw nothing but mists and birds around him, and began to look upon it
as reasonable that they were travelling heaven-ward. He was glad, and
wondered what he should see up there. The dizziness passed all at once.
He was so exceedingly happy at the thought that he was on his way to
heaven and was leaving this earth.
Just about then he heard a couple of loud shots, and saw two white
smoke-columns ascend.
There was a sudden awakening, and an unrest among the birds.
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