FIELD-DAYS IN CALIFORNIA 



was about four miles ahead. Was there water in 

 it ? Well, there might be — a little. How should 

 we know when we got to it ? There was a gate 

 close by. 



Then I explained, in a word, what I was after, 

 a certain kind of bird, a magpie. Oh, yes, the 

 stranger answered, with no sign of surprise, as 

 if it were the most natural thing in the world for 

 a man to drive fifty miles, without a gun, to 

 look at magpies ! — Oh, yes, I should find them. 

 " Go in at the gate," he said. And then he added, 

 " You may have to go up as far as the house ; 

 but you '11 find 'em." Heaven bless the man, say 

 I, who has the wit and the will to deal in par- 

 ticulars when information is wanted. 



My spirits ran high. The game was as good 

 as won. And shortly, before I had noticed any- 

 thing of the kind myself, while I supposed, in- 

 deed, that we had still a mile or two to travel, 

 the driver said, " This must be the creek." Sure 

 enough there was a dribble of water, at which, 

 with patience, a man might fill a quart cup. Yes, 

 and there was the gate. " All right," said I, as 

 my feet struck the ground ; " I '11 find you here 

 when I come back." 



I proceeded cautiously up the path beside the 

 brook. Birds of various sorts were in the bushes, 

 but I would not stay to notice them. A strange 

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