FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 



"You need half an hour's outing," I suggested, for the gravel 

 pit was only a mile away, while my horse was at the door. The 

 cashier happened to be the head of my family, so the matter was 

 easily arranged. Mr. Hale and I at once drove to his farm. 



The spot was beautiful, a fine place for birds of all kinds. 

 Gravel for two railroads had been taken from one small hill, 

 the presence of which in this stretch of low country was difficult 

 to explain, for on the east lay the river, south the Limberlost, 

 west the big ditch draining it, and north more swampy lowland. 

 A basin had been shovelled from the main bed of gravel, then 

 veins running through it in different directions had been fol- 

 lowed up as far as pay dirt was found. Heavy rains and drain- 

 ings from the swamp had transformed these into a small lake and 

 canals. As this happened twenty years ago, the high parts 

 were covered now with tall poplars and maples, the low with a 

 beautiful fringy-leaved variety of willow, the canal and lake 

 surrounded by cattails, bullrushes and tall swamp-grasses, while 

 everywhere there grew luxuriant vines, or almost impenetrable 

 thickets of wild rose, button-bush and all kinds of swamp under- 

 brush. The river was only a quarter of a mile away while solid 

 swamp covered the intervening space. 



The back wall of the old pit was twenty feet high facing east; 

 nearly a foot and a half from the surface was the opening which 

 had attracted Mr. Hale and his little daughters during their 

 Sabbath walk. We cut a willow to measure the tunnel, finding 

 it to be six feet deep. We threw light into it with a pocket 

 mirror, but could see nothing. Mr. Hale was certain that the 

 opening had not been there the previous week, as he had been at 

 the pit much of late, ostensibly entertaining the children, in 

 reality, from the number of locations to which he led me, hunt-- 

 ing bird-nests for me. I was sure the work was fresh, for a 

 small heap of sand and gravel that had been pushed from the 



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