, 1918-07-25

cOllege vacation that his celebrated
old uncle, James Devridge, told him in
his blunt, quaint way that he was
strongly of the opinion that he-Philip
was a lazy, loafing, worthless speci-
men of humanity, and utterly I'M
worthy of being James Devridge's sole
heir, as had been that distinguished
mans original intentions.
On the charge of never having done
anything in life that he nae not been
made to do, Philip mentioned the fact,
not at all boastfully but only in self
defense, that he had brought down
various prizes for his amateur pho
Biography.
Eyes, but what value has it been
pictures of pretty girls and horses or
something of that Sort nuttered the
old scientist. eff you could get photo
graphs Of birds that would do to illus
trate this book I've been working over,
they might count for something"
"Give me a chance challenged the
nephew. what sort of pictures do you
want?"
"Read the manuscript and find
out" was the uncle's answer "The
book is a study of homogeneous habits
among the birds of eastern North
America. 1t is not a popular work at
all. | doubt if you can make head or
tail of it. 1t requires a scientific point
of view, and that you don't possess
"I1l try it," said the nephew, and
the day after work at college was over
he started off to a little cabin in the
northern mountain country of New
England, where his uncle had in years
past lone considerable observation of
bird life, there to get the photographs
the uncle had assured him he couldn't
get. Philip was perfectly confident of
his lenses INT his cameras and his
photography. The thing that troubled
him was knowing what sort of pic
lures to take. For the first three days
of his stay in the woods country he
read the duplicate manuscript his
uncle had given him. Frankly he was
not very much encouraged.
Then he yearned for a letup of his
solitude, and with characteristic blunt
ness asked the old countryman who
drove the stage that passed his door
twice n day whether there were any
nice girls in the n~eighborhood. "There
is only one good-looker," said the old
man, who seemed to have made care
full observations, and she's queer.
YOU wouldn't like her and she wouldn't
have anything to do with you, neither,
She lives alone in the summer in q
shack in the woods e to yours
She's awful queer. But she do be gooC
looking"
SLOWS she queer?" queried Philip.
Powerful queer-that's how queer
She sometimes sets a whole day at
time under a bush in the gully, and one
day 1 seen her setting way up in the
tip-top of a tree. Well, she was there
when l went down in the morning an6
still there when l come home in the
afternoon. Don't know how she got
there, but there she was. And she goes
around with opera glasses, just as If
she thought there was n show going
on, and she whistles and chirrups to
herself, and-well, there's no doubt but
she's queer" concluded the old man
with a significant tapping of the side
of his own head, as if to indicate where
the weakness lay.
Philip needed no further proof. He
believed the old man had exaggerated
the matter, but he had no doubt of the
young woman's dementia. One day
while still reading his uncle's manu-
script, hoping to find a clue as to what
his photographs should be-he saw
the strange young lady, sitting not in
the top of one of her own trees, but
in the top of n of the trees very near
to his own shack. He looked at her
from the safety of his shack and then
assuming n perfectly confident air and
a cheerful whistle, ventured out and
began to walk noisily about the tree.
ooh, please tread SOFTLY" said the
strange young lady. 81 think they are
settling here in this tree. If you dis
turb them they may go off again.
Please go away, won't yOu?" Philip
withdrew and did not return till later
in the day, when the young lady de-
scended very quietly.
IT think they are located" she told
him. "They are in the next tree-two
thrushes. I watched them in my own
trees and then they came over here.
l can watch them beautifully from this
other tree that I was sitting in. 1 hope
you don't mind"
why. please, were you watching
just those thrushesH" he asked her,
and she told him that If he would let
her stay and eat lunch with him in his
shack instead of having to tramp back
the half mile to her own. she would
take time to tell him. 1t was In his
little cabin dining room over a rustic
sort of luncheon that Phsip prepared
1 fOr thapn-rnfPan SrnOkxy nf aroma hlrt
delicious to the appetite, sharpened by
woods air, sliced ham, dry biscuits and
eheese-that the girl explained.
well, you see. I am making a study
of monogamy among birds-that Is, 1
want to get a little data that will be
of some value in establishing the fact