It was ueaiiy dark one December afteruoou, 

 the suow aukle-deei^ and falling swiftlj^, wlien, 

 crossing a -nide field, I heard this call from a 

 piece of sprout-laud ahead of me. Kneeling 

 in the snow, I answered the whistle. Instantly 

 came a reply. Back and forth we signaled till 

 there was a whir of wings, and down in the soft 

 snow within a few feet of nie dropped the lonely, 

 frightened (luail. She was the only one left of a 

 covty that the night before had roosted un- 



■ "Within a t'e^v feet of me droppeil the lonely fi-i^'htencJ qtiail." 



[1,^2] 



