30 UPON THE WOOD ROAD 



suggestive and delightful, could not content 

 me long ; for voices were calling from above, 

 voices most potent of all, thrushes. After 

 an hour under the cedar I resumed my stony 

 way up the hill to the edge of an opening 

 where trees had been felled, a " cut-out," 

 as it is called, and there, on a conveniently 

 placed rock, I waited for who might come. 

 One day, as I sat there, a royal guest in rich 

 warm brown and white appeared, alighted on 

 a small tree, and threw up his tail in charac- 

 teristic fashion ; then his eye fell on me, 

 perhaps thirty feet away. I remained mo- 

 tionless while the bird a hermit-thrush 

 took a long and close look at the intruder 

 upon his grounds. Quiet as I might be, it 

 was plain the beautiful creature was not for 

 a moment deceived. He recognized me as 

 one of the race against whom he must be on 

 his guard. He wished to pass on, but panic 

 or even vulgar haste is not in his nature. 

 He stood a few moments, calmly answered a 

 hermit-call from the woods then without 

 hurry flew to the ground, ran lightly along 

 to a rock, on the highest peak of which he 

 paused again, tossed his tail, and looked at 



