74 A TRAMP IN THE CATSKILLS 



Our guide at length paused on a big rock where 

 the land began to dip down the other way, and con- 

 cluded that he had gone far enough, and that we 

 would now have no difficulty in finding the lake. " It 

 must lie right down there," he said, pointing with his 

 hand. But it was plain that he was not quite sure in 

 his own mind. He had several times wavered in his 

 course, and had shown considerable embarrassment 

 when bearing to the left across the summit. Still we 

 thought little of it. We w^ere full of confidence, and, 

 bidding him adieu, plunged down the mountain-side, 

 following a spring run that we had no doubt led to 

 the lake. 



In these woods, w^hich had a southeastern expos- 

 ure, I first began to notice the wood thrush. In com- 

 ing up the other side I had not seen a feather of any 

 kind, or heard a note. Now the golden irilUde-de 

 of the wood thrush sounded through the silent woods. 

 While looking for a fish-pole about half way down the 

 mountain, I saw a thrush's nest in a little sapling 

 about ten feet from the ground. 



After continuing our descent till our only guide, 

 the spring run, became quite a trout brook, and its 

 tiny murmur a loud brawl, we began to peer anx- 

 iously through the trees for a glimpse of the lake, or 

 for some conformation of the land that would indicate 

 its proximity. An object which w^e vaguely discerned 

 in looking under the near trees and over the more dis- 

 tant ones proved, on further inspection, to be a patch 

 of ploughed ground. Presently we made out a burnt 

 fallow near it. This was a wet blanket to our enthu- 

 siasm. No lake, no sport, no trout for supper that 

 night. The rather indolent young man had either 



