IN THE WEALD 85 
we have only had the beginning of it, for we can see 
the rain descending like sheets of vapour. Leith 
Hill and the hills that follow, on to Hind Head, stand 
out in bold relief for a few moments, and then they 
are blotted out. 
The sun shines ; the drops of water on the leaves 
of the great vine that runs up the side and over the 
roof-slabs of the house, glitter like diamonds. A pair 
of starlings fly up to the top of one of the chimneys, 
and chatter in their quaint fashion, with quivering 
bills and puffed -out feathers, about the change of 
weather that came and went so quickly. The 
sparrows have left their holes in the thatch, and gone 
back to the spot they rushed from. The geese and 
ducks waddle to the pond again, where they throw 
the water over their backs, flap and splash with their 
wings, and have a general trim-up. The roosters 
stalk out, give themselves a shake, and there they are 
in all their bravery combs and tails up followed 
by the hens. They crow now. With a ' Come back ! ' 
the guinea-fowl darts across the yard to finish his 
exploration in some hedgerow that the storm had 
forced him to leave. 
Swallows come out one by one ; presently they are 
dashing about all over the place. The one that was 
on the beam overhead dives down and out to join his 
