42 



OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



but one youngster lacked the worldly wisdom 

 of his fellows, and would frequently alight in 

 close proximity to some passer-by. Fortu- 

 nately, the timely arrival of the Naturalist 

 saved him from an untimely end, until he too 

 finally learned to mount high and still higher, 

 until he became but a point in the blue of the 

 summer sky. The Naturalist now saw them 

 only on infrequent occasions, although he still 

 watched the big birds soaring above his head 

 whenever opportunity offered. When he 

 heard their shrill cry of "Free, free" he was 

 reminded of the days when Father Red-tail 



The youngsters made the best of the situation. 



