A PROBLEM IN BLACK. 141 
through a second, and in little more than the 
space of a third wink he was back at the tree 
again. 
After that our rook—still with his gang— 
loafed to the meadows. No bill could be 
driven into the ground there. Then a sheep 
bleated ; and winnowing, innocently of course, 
to the spot, the rook gang found a ewe fool- 
ishly anchored on her back in a hollow, and— 
well, the shepherd arrived only just in time to 
save the eyes of that sheep. 
A couple of hours later we find our rook, 
still with his reprobate brethren, sitting about 
at the top of the big, hilly field where the 
rabbit-warren was. 
There were plenty of rabbits about there— 
old ones who knew how to take care of them- 
selves—enjoying the dry sun. ‘Then there 
was a baby rabbit who came quietly out of a 
hole apart from the rest. All fat and furry 
and innocent he was. 
Our rook cocked his head sideways and 
slowly closed one eye. I swear he did. 
Another rook about twenty yards off did 
the same thing. A third stared down his 
long beak most innocently. 
Then, before you could cry out, that baby 
rabbit was aware of a black whirlwind of three 
rooks hurling themselves upon him. 
