OUTDOORS 



learned from books, and little of which had 

 any breath of the lone, gray marsh about it. 

 And many curious and even scornful eyes 

 were cast upon the two ungainly birds stand- 

 ing there. 



But out on the wide stretch of marsh-grass 

 there was a something stiller than silence in 

 the spot where the crane had fallen. For to 

 satisfy a base curiosity, a harmless bird had 

 been slain, and there was a loss to the pict- 

 uresqueness and life of the lonely marsh, 

 and no recompense was given. No longer 

 would his figure float across in hazy flight as 

 the sun sank in the west, and in vain would 

 the friendly winds seek him in the place 

 where he had found haven. 



Wind, sun, and rain; the flight of birds 

 overhead and the whirl of dry leaves from 

 November-harassed trees; the waving grasses 

 and the shadows all now was alone and un- 

 heeded, excepting by the ebb and flow of 

 changing seasons. The blackbirds might pass 

 over and the kingfisher scold along the reedy 

 shore; the dusky wings of the wandering tern 

 might tack and beat against delaying winds, 

 and the grim crow paint ebon lines in far 

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