XLIV.His Belli 



igerency 



NOW that his mate is hopefully hatching on 

 a promising nestful of eggs, the old gob- 

 bler finds time hanging heavy on his hands 

 and by way of diversion is proceeding to 

 beat up all other gobblers in the neighbourhood. 

 Whenever he hears another gobbler, no matter how 

 faintly, he lets out a wrathful gobble and starts 

 across the fields to trample on his rival. Neighbours 

 have had to drive him home in order to save their 

 flocks, for he is in the heavyweight class, and no 

 ordinary country bird has any show with him. Of 

 course, when we found out what he was up to we 

 penned him in, but occasionally he makes his es- 

 cape, and it takes quick work to keep him from 

 crossing the fields and committing mayhem and tort 

 and doing grievous bodily harm to well-meaning gob- 

 blers that venture to gobble their opinions about 

 things. I wouldn't mind so much if he headed down 

 the road on one of his foraging expeditions, for there 

 is an ecru gobbler suffering from delusions of 



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