Atalapha, a Winged Brownie 
and gave him no special thrill; but on his young 
mother it acted like a spell. She scrambled to the 
doorway and Jaunched into the night with a long, 
warbling, high-pitched, ““Hoooooo!” Atalapha lost 
no time in following; and then in the starry night 
it seemed that every star had a quavering voice, 
was singing a soft, long, ““Hee-oo0,” “‘hee-ooo!” 
in strains so high that human ear may hear them 
not, in notes so soft and quavering that surely 
these were the Brownie bugles blowing. From 
everywhere and nowhere came the strains. But 
darting up and out Atalapha realized that the air 
was full of Bats, not the little black-faced things 
like those he had scornfully hunted with all sum- 
mer, but Great Northern Bats like himself and his 
mother, and yet not just the same for they were 
bigger, stronger, more richly clad, like folk of his 
race, but nobles beside whom he was of common 
kind. 
What were they? Whence came they? Why 
should they sing as he never had heard his people 
sing? How beautiful and big and strong they 
looked. What wondrous turns they made in air. 
And as he gazed he saw a pair come swooping by. 
One great handsome fellow with wings of eighteen 
span, and fur like flame, when it whistled red or 
yellow in the wind. And the smaller one! Could 
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