104 IN FLORIDA. 



his royal head to escape by the road through which 

 he entered. Becoming alarmed he springs up, dash- 

 ing himself against the logs, he thrusts his head be- 

 tween the crevices and tries to fly through the roof 

 by main force, but in vain, the pen is too strong, 

 and the only method of escape which is open he 

 will not condescend to take. 



The owner of such a pen does not visit it regularly, 

 and the turkeys are often shut up in it for days, 

 frequently falling a prey to wild cats that find them 

 before their lawful proprietor comes to claim them. 

 My unholy suspicions were that the doctor, the Su- 

 perintendent of the New York Fishery Commission, 

 and the captain of the yacht Heartsease had acci- 

 dentally found such a pen, and acted the part of the 

 wild cat. For although I could see nothing suspic- 

 ious about the bird, it was strange that persons who 

 had stalked a wild turkey through a dense Southern 

 forest hardly seemed to be tired, and wished to sit 

 up half the night to smoke and talk. Still the bird 

 proved to be delicious, and the entire party were 

 grateful for him whether honestly obtained or not, 

 so little does hunger weigh questions of morality. 



Two days after the turkey adventure, when we 

 were sailing along before a mild breeze, Mr. Green 

 steering, the doctor smoking, and the rest of us read- 

 ing, Charley suddenly called out from forward where 

 he was standing: 



(i Look at that large bird flying over the woods to 

 the west." 



We all looked in the direction indicated, and saw 



