OUTDOORS 



sun a wall of shadows brooded. On the 

 slopes the sumach blazed, the wine of all the 

 seasons red-gleaming in its clusters, and be- 

 low, the severe gray of faded thistle-stalks 

 lent an ascetic contrast. Sometimes the 

 shadow of a hawk's wing etched a floating 

 picture on the grass, and occasionally a blue- 

 jay's bright pinion lit up a patch of sombre 

 shrubbery as a blue flame will shine in a 

 darkened chamber. The woodland road lay 

 breathless and dusty far below, and in dense 

 thickets the earth's pulsations heaved softly 

 or were still. In drowsy spaces along the hills 

 a soft wind drifted in and out, and the leaves 

 rose and fell as the breeze lifted or sank, and 

 a smell of burned vines and of ripening nuts 

 was in the air. 



Suddenly there came from a distance the 

 bay of a hound " Woo - oo, woo - oop, 

 woop ! " It was in the indicative mood. It 

 conveyed the idea of a discovery. The sound 

 came nearer, and over a hill, opposite, passed 

 a silhouette of a dog, his nose to the ground, 

 his whole attention directed to the trail. After 

 him came others, and soon a livelier and 

 more eager chorus began as the trail became 

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