THE WILD TURKEY. 41 



as he neither called nor presented himself, I was about 

 to withdraw the gun, when he crept to the edge of the 

 thicket and stared at the blind. After reconnoitring the 

 ground in front he stood still, and, with one leg half- 

 raised, as if he Avere suspicious of the very ground on 

 which he stood, he surveyed his surroundings in the 

 most cautious manner. I looked at him with admiring 

 eyes for a few seconds, as he was one of the most superb 

 specimens of his family I had ever seen, being full grown, 

 and arrayed in a new suit of feathered armor, which glis- 

 tened with a metallic effulgence of bronze and purple and 

 green. Spurred and bearded, he looked to be the ideal 

 of a feathered monarch of the forest, for his eyes glowed 

 with a liquid brilliancy, while his attitude expressed 

 pride, daring, and vigilance. Having feasted my eyes on 

 his beauty, I made preparations to make a subsequent 

 feast on his body, by taking a steady aim at his head and 

 pulling the trigger. A sharp crack followed, and I ex- 

 pected to see him fall, but when I looked for his dead 

 body I saw him footing it in the liveliest manner for the 

 woods a little to the right. Seeing that he would soon 

 disappear if I were not quick in my movements, I fired 

 at him again just as he was about entering some bushes, 

 and when the smoke cleared away I scanned the ground 

 for him, but he was invisible. This caused me to give 

 vent to an expression that would lead hypercritical per- 

 sons to fancy I was not an angel, but it had scarcely been 

 spoken before the who-who-who-are-you of the barred 

 owl, the defiant gobble of the turkey, and a mocking 

 laugh rang throughout the woods. 



"Oh, yes, you're very clever!" said I to my com- 

 panion, for it was he who had uttered the sounds. 



''^The animals are making fun of you, my boy," said 

 he, in a bandying tone, " and I don't blame them after 

 making such a miss as that." 



"Why didn't you shoot him, then?" 



