52 NORTH CAROLINA 



about me, and then retraced my steps, 

 having in mind a comfortable nooning- 

 place, out of sight of the houses, where I 

 would eat my luncheon, and observe the 

 ravens at my leisure as they crossed from 

 one mountain to another above my head. 

 For all the unexpectedness of the old 

 woman's dubious phrase, I was not dis- 

 couraged. Why should I be? Mr. Bur- 

 roughs did not find the English nightingale 

 all at once, nor did M. Tartarin kill a lion 

 on his first day in the Algerian desert ; and 

 if these men had exercised patience, so 

 could I. 



* At the right spot, therefore, where the 

 shade fell upon a handy stump, I took my 

 seat. First a line or two in my notebook, 

 and then I would dispose of my luncheon. 

 At that instant, however, two boys came 

 down the road ; and when I spoke to them, 

 they waited for no more explicit invitation, 

 but planted themselves on the ground, one 

 on each side of me. If I asked them a 

 question, they answered it ; if I kept 

 silence, they sat and looked at me. For 

 aught that appeared, they meant to spend 

 the afternoon thus engaged. Pleasant as 



