The Keeper of the Spring-House 47 



first peal roused the "Deacon/' and if he had not, 

 in fact, dreamed about them, his first waking 

 thought was a confused jumble of young Prairie 

 Chickens and young Kingfishers at the mercy of 

 the elements. If it rained and the water rushed 

 down that bank, they would be drowned. They, 

 the nest robbers, were responsible. Their duty 

 was clear; it meant he and Hod to the rescue. 

 He roused his brother, never mind whether it 

 was by threats or promises, and it was getting 

 light when they stole out of the house to pilfer 

 two lengths of stove pipe from the granary, got 

 a spade, and headed for the lake at a rate called 

 by military tacticians, a forced march. The two 

 lengths when joined together were a little too 

 long, but when a fellow was doing the best he 

 could, what more could be expected of him ! They 

 talked it over on their way back to the rescue. 

 How could they know that they would find young 

 birds? and they wouldn't, either, if those fool 

 parents hadn't been in such a hurry about getting 

 to house-keeping. When they finally got the 

 stove-pipe in place, just where the old tunnel 

 had been, and the earth well packed around it, 

 they couldn't stay to see if the birds would use it 

 or npt, for what had threatened to be a thunder 

 shower, proved a deluge, and they had to seek 

 refuge among the trees of the Seminary Land. 

 It was nearly a week, before they got back to 



