240 THE WILD TURKEY. 



head from the ground and listens : what an eye ! what 

 a stride is suggested by that uplifted foot ! Grradually 

 the head sinks ; again the bright plumage grows dim, 

 and with a low cluck he resumes his search for food. 

 The choicest treasures of the American forest are before 

 him ; the peccari nut is neglected for an immense grub- 

 worm that rolls down a decayed stump, too large to 

 crawl ; now a grasshopper is caught ; and presently 

 a large ant-hill presents itself, over which the bird leans 

 with wondrous curiosity, peering down the tiny holes 

 out of which the industrious insects are issuing:. 



Again that cluck greets his ear ; up rises the head 

 with lightning swiftness, the bird starts forward a pace 

 or two, looks round wonderingl}^, and then answers back. 



No sound is heard but the falling acorn ; and it 

 fairly rattles as it dashes from limb to limb, and then 

 falls to the ground. The bird is uneasy ; he pecks 

 pettishly, smooths down his feathers, elevates his head 

 slowly, and then brings it to the earth ; he raises his 

 wings as if for flight, jumps upon the limb of a fallen 

 tree, looks about, settles down finally into a brown 

 study, and evidently begins to think. 



An hour may have passed : he has turned the matter 

 over ; his imagination has become inflamed ; he has 

 heard just enough to wish to hear more. He is satisfied 

 that no turkey hunter uttered the sounds that reached 

 his ear, for they were too few and far between ; and 

 then there rises up in his mind the idea of some dis- 



