HENS 39 



But somebody had evidently anticipated my 

 humane desire to emancipate the prisoner, and 

 I found the box empty. A dreadful suspicion 

 occurred to me, and I made rapid strides for the 

 hencoop, where I found my fears confirmed. 



A battle had been fought, and evidences of it 

 in the shape of tufts of silvery feathers scattered 

 over the pen in which my beautiful Hamburg 

 cock had been confined were abundant, while 

 in a corner, looking like a soiled and frayed 

 feather-duster, lay the remains of that proud and 

 well-bred bird. His conqueror, splendid and un- 

 hurt, scratched and curveted before the con- 

 sorts of the late deceased king, and crowed so 

 lustily that the very rafters rang, and occasion- 

 ally, as if to dissipate any doubt that the ladies 

 present might have entertained of his being the 

 "champeen," took a whack at his antagonist, 

 and plucked from the stiffened and prostrate form 

 a choice nosegay of feathers, which he strewed 

 at the feet of the penciled beauties. 



Either my instructions had not been sufficiently 

 explicit, or that boy possessed a strong strain of 

 sporting blood in his composition. "If I could 

 only catch that rascal I would " Well, I 

 could n't really say what I would do, but I prob- 

 ably would have cross-questioned him severely 

 for the purpose of ascertaining just what sort of 

 a fight the old Hamburg put up. 



