The Gathering of the Clans 



JN OT even the owl is as much of a hermit as he 

 appears. The little fellow that all summer long 

 has slept by day in the hollow apple-tree, and 

 hooted by night from the adjacent tree-tops, has a 

 taste for company, and when two meet, their hoot- 

 ing gives way to a varied range of lowly-mur- 

 mured chatterings very different from the conven- 

 tional cries of all owldom. Keep a pet one (and 

 they are easily tamed) and you will find them not 

 only as wise as they look, but not averse to rough- 

 and-tumble fun. But a few days ago, in my wan- 

 derings, I reached the bank of a river, long after 

 sundown, and pitched my little tent by the fitful 

 light of a green-wood camp-fire. Ejaculations 

 were not smothered, but explosive, and the whole 

 strange scene brought not one but three little red 

 owls to the front. They were not afraid, and dis- 

 262 



