112 IN THE MIDDLE COUNTRY. 



I stood still and waited ; and I had my re- 

 ward, for after a few minutes' silence I saw a 

 pair of ears, and then a head, cautiously lifted 

 above the grass, about fifteen feet from the tree. 

 The mystery was solved ; it was a cat, whom 

 all birds know as a creature who will bear 

 watching when prowling around the haunts of 

 bird families. I am fond of pussy, but I depre- 

 cate her taste for game, as I do that of some 

 other hunters, wiser if not better than she. I 

 invited her to leave this place, where she plainly 

 was unwelcome, by an emphatic " scat ! " and a 

 stick tossed her way. She instantly dropped 

 into the grass and was lost to view ; and as the 

 woodpecker, whose eyes were sharper and his 

 position better than mine, said no more, I con- 

 cluded she had taken the hint and departed. 



