The Black Swans 



loud enough to be attributed to a 

 much larger creature than a yellow- 

 hammer, you will presently see that 

 it is our old friend some call the 

 "flicker" that is going through this 

 morning exercise. But he is not doing 

 it just to keep his muscular house in 

 order. Neither is he doing it for the 

 mere fun of the thing. He doesn't 

 know the first principles of the sport 

 of sliding with Briggs and "Skinnay" 

 down a cellar door. He only knows 

 that on these cool nights Mr. House- 

 fly and a fat and juicy assemblage of 

 his sisters, cousins and aunts collect 

 around the awnings, or on the wire 

 screening just beneath, as affording a 

 comfortable lodging place; and the 

 bird is hungry, awkward and per- 

 sistent. You would think that he 

 would scare away at once by his first 

 "descensus Averno" all reasonably pru- 

 dent flies, but it is not so. The latter 

 are not yet thawed out of their noc- 

 turnal numbness, and are easy marks. 



[i34] 



