212 



In Quest of 

 ^Waptonk 



tingle in my hiding, increasing the strong 

 desire that rarely leaves me to understand 

 what passes in the heads and hearts of the 

 Wood Folk. The mother went to the care- 

 Mlt:JJ / //U ] ess one an( j bought him back to where the 



*CJ^,^ flock were waiting. Then standing in the 

 midst of her brood she seemed to be talk- 

 ing to them, first in a low chatter, then in a 

 strange silent communication, in which not 

 a muscle moved, but in which every neck 

 was raised in the attitude of tense attention. 

 A moment later the flock was moving across 

 the barren, cheeping, whistling, feeding as 

 before. 



Late in the afternoon, as I watched by the 

 home flashet, there was another scene alto- 

 gether different ; and here were many things 

 that a man could not be expected to under- 

 stand, though I saw and admired them often 

 enough. As the sun sank and the pointed 

 shadows of the spruces came creeping out 

 across the barren, the little flock came wan- 

 dering back, as is the custom with wild geese, 

 to spend the night by the nest where they 

 were born, and to sleep contentedly under 



