DAYS 157 



ly for it to begin again. He used to 

 wander out to look for the bird when- 

 ever the white moon rose above the 

 rugged pine-woods behind the cottage, 

 hoping to see it singing; but when he 

 approached too near it ceased, and re- 

 commenced further away. After a while 

 he became so entranced by the song that 

 he could not go indoors in the evening 

 until the little bird had commenced. 

 Faithful Yarrow soon got to know that, 

 and if her master did not show signs of 

 moving after he had heard the first faint 

 trill, she would arouse him with her cold, 

 wet nose and pleading eyes. 



"Old Peter" could remember how 

 the sedge-bird used to awaken the still- 

 ness of the evening valleys in the far- 

 away days in the heart of the green 

 country, but now the notes, familiar as 

 they were, came to him with a strange 

 new meaning. They suggested associ- 

 ations to him that flickered dimly in 



