BOB THE VAGABOND 



band without the password; but there was nothing 

 about that to worry Bob. When any of them came 

 near, he called, ^' Chink/' and the gathering flock would 

 sing out a cheery ''Chink" in reply: and that is the way 

 he and his family were initiated into the Band of Bobo- 

 link Vagabonds. Anyone who can say ''Chink'' may 

 join this merry compan3^ That is, anyone who can pro- 

 nounce it with just exactly the right sound! 



So, withaflutter of pleasant excitement, they weregone. 

 Ofif, they were, for a land that lies south of the Amazon, 

 and with no more to say about it than, "Chink." 



No trunk, no ticket, no lunch-box; and the land they 

 would seek was four thousand miles or more away! 

 Poor little Bob! had he but tapped at the door of Man 

 with his farewell "Chink," someone could have let him 

 see a map of his journey. For men have printed time- 

 tables of the Bobolink Route, with maps to show what 

 way it lies, and with the different Stations marked where 

 food and rest can be found. The names of some of 

 the most important Stations that a bobolink, starting 

 from Maine, should stop at on the way to Brazil and 

 Paraguay, are Maryland, South Carohna, Florida, Cuba, 

 Jamaica, and Venezuela. 



Does it seem a pity that the little ignorant bird 

 started off without knowing even the name of one of 

 these places? Ah, no! A journeying bobolink needs 



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