My First Summer 



an hour or two longer; the stars shone 

 brighter ; coons, coyotes, and owls stirred 

 the silence here and there, while crickets 

 and hylas made a cheerful, continuous mu- 

 sic, so fitting and full that it seemed a part 

 of the very body of the night. The only dis- 

 cordance came from a snoring sleeper, and 

 the coughing sheep with dust in their 

 throats. In the starlight the flock looked 

 like a big gray blanket. 



June 4. - The camp was astir at day- 

 break ; coffee, bacon, and beans formed the 

 breakfast, followed by quick dish-washing 

 and packing. A general bleating began about 

 sunrise. As soon as a mother ewe arose, her 

 lamb came bounding and bunting for its 

 breakfast, and after the thousand youngsters 

 had been suckled the flock began to nibble 

 and spread. The restless wethers with raven- 

 ous appetites were the first to move, but dared 

 not go far from the main body. Billy and 

 the Indian and the Chinaman kept them 

 headed along the weary road, and allowed 



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