UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES AFIELD 135 



back row of rooms in the Cabin, south, next to the 

 orchard, I heard a screech owl calling very close. 

 Not long before, I had come as nearly perfecting 

 myself as was possible in owl notes for a recita- 

 tion I intended to give. I turned out the lights, 

 darkening the entire back part of the house; lowered 

 the upper sash of a kitchen window; lighted a 

 candle to make a dim glow, screening it with a 

 piece of pasteboard so that it would have the 

 effect of diffused light from the outside; and then 

 crouched beneath the window. After listening 

 carefully, I began low imitations of the bird's 

 cries with all the exactitude possible to me. 

 After a few efforts I felt sure that the bird was 

 answering me, so I waited, as nearly as I could 

 gauge, the same interval of time he did, and kept 

 up the calls, carefully intoning and accenting, 

 encouraged by the fact that the calls outside were 

 beyond question drawing nearer. I think that 

 my heart stood quite still for a second, when 

 there was a shadow above my head. Instantly, 

 I arose, pushed shut the window, and turned to 

 find the owl sitting on the back of one of the 

 kitchen chairs, steadily gazing at the light. He 

 had the freedom of the kitchen until morning, as I 

 dared not put him in the conservatory with the 

 canary house. The following day, when he was 

 bewildered by the light and unusual location, I 

 reproduced him, back, front, and sides, in every 

 posture I could imagine an owl might assume in 



