, 16 WINTER 







; urged on in the rear by a boy of nineteen, who was 



followed, in his turn, by an old horse and farm wagon, 

 creeping along behind. 



It was growing more difficult all the time to keep \ 

 the turkeys moving. But they must not be allowed' 

 / to stop until darkness should put an end to. the 

 , march. And they must not be allowed to take to 

 the trees at all. Some of them, indeed, were too,.' 

 '-> weak to roost high; but the flock would never move! 

 t forward again if exposed in the tall trees on such a\ 

 night as this promised to be. 



The thing to do was to keep them stirring. Once 

 allow them to halt, give one of them time to pick 

 out a roosting-limb for himself, and the march would 

 -v be over for that afternoon. The boys knew their 

 ; flock. This was not their first drive. They knew; ' 

 from experience that once a turkey gets it into his 

 small head to roost, he is bound to roost. Nothing [ 

 will stop him. And in this matter the flock acts as > 

 a single bird. 



In the last village, back along the road, through 

 which they had passed, this very flock took a notion \ , 

 suddenly to go to roost, and to go to roost on a^ 

 little chapel as the vesper bells were tolling. The \ > 

 bells were tolling, the worshipers were gathering, \ 

 when, with a loud gobble, one of the turkeys in the ', j 

 flock sailed into the air and alighted upon the ridge- ^ , 

 pole beside the belfry ! Instantly the flock broke ;' : 

 ranks, ran wildly round the little building, and with , 



' , 





