The daily morning oasis., 1918-01-13

didn't say Just who the "SOmeOne" was.
On the following night there came the
same almost perfect call of the swamp
sparrow 'Dickie's mother was in
the room! This Miriam regarded as
extremely unfortunate; but when she
had confessed everything to her sister
in-law, she found ready ally. When
Miriam went to the window that time,
the smacks were not in evidence; but
pair of the darlingest baby rabbits
found their way to Dickie's hands.
Within the next few nights there
came a whole collection OF many -hued
and such a galky-walky thing that
young heron was! These things pleased
the sick boy very much, but there was
still one thing lacking: it was the song
of the mocking bird. Then he tired
of the other things-and also he tired
of story-books and stories.
And so it came about that Dickie
went down and down until he hovered
between life and death. The least
fretting, the doctor said, might turn
the balance fatally for Dickie. The
crisis was on. And then Dicky began
to fret-he wanted the mocking bird
that had deserted him
The bird song came at midnight
The boy lay tossing and worrying,
while his father, his mother, his grand
father and his Aunt Miriam-faithfuI
Miriam watched anxiously and talked
frequently with the ever present doctor
There came from the tree outside a
series of liquid notes that were so nearly
perfect that they deceived even old
Major Singleton
"Tree-loo! Tree-loo! Tree-lo0! All
rec! Ah-reel Ah-ree! P-r-r-rl P-r-r-r!
P-r-r-r! Twit! Twill Twit! Looryl
Loory! Loory! Loory!"
Dickie opened his fevered eyes i'm
mediately. "There's my mocker!" he
said weakly, but very joyfully.
The imitation went on and on. The
watchers were STILL There was a
gladness in each of their hearts, a
gladness so great that words may not
describe it. The tension was broken,
and there was hope; Dickie lay quiet,
drinking in the sounds hungrily. On
and on went the song
There was the piping whistle of the
field sparrow, the "Tcheer- Tcheer" of
of the bobolink, the "Cack- -Cack" of
the magpie, the "Tseu-Tseer of the
meadowlark, the "Pecheree" of the
kingbird, the. "Quit-u" of the flicker
the Wichity- -Witchity- Witch" of the
yellowthroat, the "Chee- Wee" of the
yellow warbler, the "Chip-Churr" of
the scarlet tanger, the catbird's whole
medley-and this is less than half of it,
An hour later Dickies fever was
broken somewhat, and he was sleeping.
Several days went by, and the boy
continued to improve. To some Of
them it seemed strange that the mocking
bird sang only at night. There was no
new nest in the tree; the major said that
was the reason, probably. DicEie lay
content through the daylight hours; he
knew that the coming of darkness would
bring the song he loved.
Better and better grew Dickie, and
his recovery was only a matter of days.
The gladness of the old majors face
was duplicated on the face of every
other person on that wide plantation.
Somehow, though, the old soldier
seemed the happiest of them all.
Dickie had not forgotten Reeve. He
couldn't have forgotten Reeve if he had
wished, for the rabbits and the squirrel
and all the other things were there to
remind him of the Northerner One
afternoon he asked his grandfather:
Reckon Aunt Miriam will ever