XXXV 



CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE 



Indoors it was hot and stuffy. Under the in- 

 fluence of furnace heat I was slowly mummifying. 

 I determined to sally forth. It was the eighth of 

 January and a raw sort of day. The ground was 

 covered with snow which had partly melted and 

 then had frozen over again into a thin icy sheet, 

 which broke at every step. Behind our house 

 was an open field, now swept bare by the free 

 north wind. Even the weeds grew sparingly here 

 and showed the effect of much mowing. A flock 

 of crows "riz up" at my approach, though I would 

 gladly have conferred with them. Perhaps they 

 looked on me with suspicion because of the red 

 hood I wore. I'll admit it was an unbecoming 

 headgear and seldom saw the light of day; but I 

 hadn't expected to meet any neighbors. 



The snow crust along the road was broken by 

 the foot-marks of only one pedestrian. I tried 

 stepping in his tracks, but found it poor sport. I 

 looked about me for something more stimulating, 

 and found it in the tracks of two crows. One had 

 evidently been walking along in the same direction 

 as myself, and lately. Up on the steep bank was 

 a small black object, just showing above the snow. 

 The crow climbed the steep slope, sinking deep 

 at every step. How he must have felt when he 



(194) 



