38 Wilderness Ways. 



looking very much surprised. " I thought you were 

 away; why, I thought you were away," he seemed to 

 be saying. Then he clucked, and the timk-a-tunk 

 ceased instantly. Another cluck, and Mrs. Killooleet 

 appeared, looking frightened ; then, one after another, 

 the five little Killooleets bobbed up ; and there they 

 sat in a solemn row on the edge of the cracker box, 

 turning their heads sidewise to see me better. 



" There ! " said Killooleet, " did n't I tell you he 

 would n't hurt you ? " And like five winks the five 

 little Killooleets were back in the box, and the tunk- 

 a-tunking began again. 



This assurance that they might do as they pleased, 

 and help themselves undisturbed to whatever they 

 found, seemed to remove the last doubt from the 

 mind of even the little gray mate. After that they 

 stayed most of the time close about my tent, and 

 were never so far away, or so busy insect hunt- 

 ing, that they would not come when I whistled 

 and scattered crumbs. The little Killooleets grew 

 amazingly, and no wonder ! They were always 

 eating, always hungry. I took good pains to give 

 them less than they wanted, and so had the satis- 

 faction of feeding them often, and of finding their 

 tin plate picked clean whenever I came back from 

 fishing. 



