160 WITH THE SEA-LOVERS 



to them, when he noticed some crows step- 

 ping around among the young plants. Know- 

 ing the reputation of this bird as a corn-lover, 

 he supposed, of course, that they belonged to 

 the army of destroyers, as if the worms were 

 not enough to finish the crop. For a wonder, 

 he did not at once proceed to shoot the birds, 

 but in an unusual " spasm of sense " resolved 

 to find out positively what they were about. 

 To his great surprise he discovered that they 

 were doing just what he had been attempt- 

 ing at such expense of muscle and temper 

 digging out and killing cutworms. He in- 

 stantly decided to leave the field and let the 

 crows work for him. He did, and the birds 

 cleared the ground completely, doing no harm 

 to the crop. 



Let this little story, which is absolutely 

 true, offset some of the " hearsay " tales of 

 this bird. 



If I had not lo, these many years 

 been telling the truth and nothing but the 

 truth, however alluring the path of fiction, 

 or, at least, of " supposing," confining myself 

 strictly to absolute facts with the devotion 

 (if not the spirit) of a Gradgrind, I should 



