THE DREAM OF THE YELLOW-THROAT 211 



hidden in the deep, soft plumage, but ever and 

 anon the little body throbs and the song falls 

 gently on the silence of the night : "I beseech you ! 

 I beseech you! I beseech you!" A Maryland 

 yellow-throat is asleep and singing in its dreams. 

 As we look and listen, a shadowless something 

 hovers overhead, and, looking upward, we see a 

 gray screech owl silently hanging on beating 

 wings. His sharp ears have caught the muffled 

 sound; his eyes search out the tangle, but the 

 yellow-throat is out of reach. The little hunter 

 drifts away into the blackness, the song ends and 

 the sharp squeak of a mouse startles us. We rise 

 slowly from our cramped position and quietly 

 leave the mysteries of the night. 



