168 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



ask him why he can't speak Greek? English! Lord! Lord! 

 Lord ! Tom Draw and English !" 



" I'll jist tell Archer what he warnts to know, and then see 

 you, my clear little, critter, if I doosn't English you some !" re- 

 plied the old man, waxing wroth. "Well, Archer, to tell hea- 

 ven's truth, now, I doos know it ; but it's an etarnal all-fired 

 shame of me to be tellin' it, bein' as how I knows it in the way 

 of business like. It's got to be selled by vandoo* in April. 



" Then, by Jove ! I will buy it," said Harry ; " and down I'll 

 go to-morrow. But that need not take you away, boys ; you 

 can stay and finish out the week here, and go home in the 

 lanthe ; Tom will send you down to Nyack." 



" Sartain," responded Tom ; " but now I'm most darned 

 glad I told you that, Archer. I meant to a told you on't afore, 

 but it clean slipped out of my head ; but all's right, now. Hark ! 

 hark ! don't you hear, boys ? The quails hasn't all got to- 

 gether yit better luck ! Hush, A , and you'll hear them 



callin' whew-wheet ! whew-wheet ! whe-vvhe-whe ;" and the 

 old Turk began to call most scientifically ; and in ten minutes 

 the birds were answering him from all quarters, through the 

 circular space of Bog-meadow, and through the thorny brake 

 beyond it, and some from a large ragwort field further yet. 



u How is this, Frank did they scatter so much when they 

 dropped ?" asked Harry. 



" Yes ; part of them 'lighted in the little bank on this edge, 

 by the spring, you know; and some, a dozen or so, right in the 

 middle of the bog, by the single hickory ; and five or six went 

 into the swamp, and a few over it." 



" That's it ! that's it ! and they've been running to try to get 

 together," said the Commodore. 



" But was too skeart to call, till we'd quit shootin' !" said 

 Tom. " But come, boys, let's be stirrin', else they'll git to- 

 gether like ; they keeps drawin', drawin', into one place now, I 

 can hear." 



No sooner said than done ; we were all on foot in an instant, 

 and ten minutes brought us to the edge of the first thicket ; and 

 here was the truth of Harry's precepts tested by practice in a 

 moment; for they had not yet entered the thin bushes, on 



* Vendue. Why the French word for a public auction has been adopt- 

 ed throughout the Northern and Eastern States, as applied to a Sheriff's 

 sale, deponent saith not. 



