Luke, 'the Rabbit Contractor. 155 



CHAPTER IX. 



LUKE, THE RABBIT CONTRACTOR I THE BROOK- 

 PATH. 



THE waggon-track leading to the Upper Woods 

 almost always presented something of interest, and 

 often of beauty. The solitude of the place seemed 

 to have attracted flowers and ferns as well as wild 

 animals and birds. For though flowers have no 

 power of motion, yet seeds have a negative choice 

 and lie dormant where they do not find a kindly 

 welcome. But those carried hither by the birds or 

 winds took root and flourished, secure from the rude 

 ploughshare or the sharp scythe. 



The slow rumble of waggon-wheels seldom dis- 

 turbed the dreamy silence, or interrupted the song of 

 the birds ; so seldom that large docks and thistles 

 grew calmly beside the ruts untouched by hoofs. 

 From the thick hedges on either side trailing bram- 

 bles and briars stretched far out, and here and there 



