Redruff 



fourfold force; the snow-crust crumbled quickly, 

 and in a little while he sprang from his icy 

 prison once more free. But the young ones ! 

 Redruff flew to the nearest bank, hastily gath- 

 ered a kw red hips to stay his gnawing hun- 

 ger, then returned to the prison-drift and clucked 

 and stamped. He got only one reply, a feeble 

 'peetc, peetc,'' and scratching with his sharp 

 claws on the thinned granular sheet he soon 

 broke through, and Graytail feebly crawled out 

 of the hole. But that was all ; the others, scat- 

 tered he could not tell where in the drift, made 

 no reply, gave no sign of life, and he was forced 

 to leave them. When the snow melted in the 

 spring their bodies came to view, skin, bones, 

 and feathers — nothing more. 



VII 



It was long before Redruff and Graytail fully 

 recovered, but food and rest in plenty are sure 

 cure-alls, and a bright clear day in midwinter 

 had the usual effect of setting the vigorous Red- 

 ruff to drumming on the log. Was it the 

 drumming, or the tell-tale tracks of their snow- 



35o 



