. The trial to the woods. In a tangle of weeds and clematis, underneath alow-hanging hemlock, they found rest and shelter,and their strength and courage soon returned tothem. This was a strange land into which they hadcome, a land where the hounds no longer followedthem, and where the thunder no longer killed. Thereason for all this was very simple. It was notan accident that the fatal lightning had struck thehound instead of the deer, for the man was a game-warden enforcing the law in the state of Massachu-setts, which protects the deer from both hounds andmen and leaves them tenants of the w
. The trial to the woods. In a tangle of weeds and clematis, underneath alow-hanging hemlock, they found rest and shelter,and their strength and courage soon returned tothem. This was a strange land into which they hadcome, a land where the hounds no longer followedthem, and where the thunder no longer killed. Thereason for all this was very simple. It was notan accident that the fatal lightning had struck thehound instead of the deer, for the man was a game-warden enforcing the law in the state of Massachu-setts, which protects the deer from both hounds andmen and leaves them tenants of the wilderness, un-fettered and free as the winds that blow. An Ill-timed Flight All day long the hoarse, wild cries of waterfowlshad resounded along the shores of a lonely Canadianlake where the clans of wild geese were gathering. Summer and autumn had come and gone. Thebroods had been reared, and now the time had come I05 when they must say good-by to the pleasant lakethat had sheltered and fed them, and seek a A Battle Royal Many battles royal had taken place for the leader-ship of the flock. Aspiring ganders had foughtupon the frozen sands like Spartans, giving buffetfor buffet, and blow for blow. These had not been io6 sham fights, but real contests of strength and abilityto stand pounding. It seems almost incredible, buta blow from the wing of a wild goose will frequentlybreak bones, and if it falls upon a mans head it willusually stun him. There had been eight or ten broods of geese rearedthis year at the little lake, and usually they wouldhave gone off quite peacefully in two or three flocks,but this year it was different. Something told themthat there was hard weather ahead. Winds andstorm must be met, and wise and wary leaders mustbe chosen. So the older and wiser ones clamoredfor a large flock, led by the most experienced ganderin the region. Small squads of two or three geese had been rest-lessly flying to and fro all day long, apparentlyarranging matters, a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidcu3192, booksubjectanimals
