52 



Idle Days in Patas'on 



la. 



rushes uuder tlie gaunt, leafless trees, for the sea- 

 son was midwinter. The weather was the worst I 

 had experienced in the country, being piercingly 

 cold, with a violent wind and frequent storms of 





Black Vulture. 



rain and sleet. The rough, wet boles of the trees 

 rose up tall and straight like black pillars from the 

 rank herbage beneath, and on the higher branches 



