112 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



" Cheenk ! " His presence in the grove in- 

 dicated that he was on his southward journey. 

 He walked about for a time, snapped up some 

 tiny prey, deliberately turned over a few leaves 

 in quest of more eatables, then somehow disap- 

 peared. 



Out on the mud about mid-afternoon, when 

 all the company seemed in the last stage of 

 drowsiness, there came of a sudden a hasty wak- 

 ing-up. Jauntily winging across the wide 

 slough from the northward was a big blue gos- 

 hawk. The news had spread in a flash, and in- 

 stantly every duck prepared for a scurry into 

 the deeper water, while the yellowlegs and god- 

 wits sprang up and went swirling around in 

 circles high in air, as though seeking ample sea 

 room in which to ride out the gale, in case they 

 were set upon by the foe. But having dined 

 previously, he made not a single threatening 

 move and passed on lazily to the southward. 



This fierce fellow is seldom seen on the plains 

 in August, but late in the fall and in the bitter 

 winter weather, the grouse and rabbits know him 

 well — so fierce and strong awing and so relent- 

 less in pursuit that there is small chance of escape 

 from him, when once he has marked a victim for 



