Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-02-21

the steadfast woods-the first tn
stinct Of unspoiled men with heart.
ache-the vastness. the all suffi.
cheney. tie immense Shekinah of the
solitudes With the gun lying across
his arm he stepped cautiously to
where the pheasant had flushed and
peered about under the brush and
bushes.
AS his straining gaze searched with
extreme mfnuteness every leaf. or
glimpse of weed or bark or grass
blade. gradually a grayish-brown spot,
just where the bush of fallen limb
lay along the side of a crumbling
log began 10 take shape He shifted
his position for better Yiew-the
gray-brown spot was gone.
He located 1t again. and as he
looked, slowly there grew out of the
blending colors of the copse the figure
of hen pheasant on the nest, so per-
fectly harmonizing with. the leaves
and brush among which she lowered
that only the very keenest eye could
have spied her out at all. A moment
he gazed. and slipped away as noise
lessly as he had come.
let er alone" be muttered when
at safe distance. Let 'er think l
couldn't find 'er. She'll think If |
couldn't the fox can't. and he's her
greatest dread right now"
The trees were hardly leaved out
enough yet to conceal man walking
carelessly through them, or fully keep
back the sun from peeping down
through the thick tangle of twigs and
coaxing forth flower and grass blade
from the quickening mold The silver
sheath of the hickory buds had al
ready burst and sprung wide apart,
the delicate green of the crinkled,
newborn leaves appearing In sharp
contrast to the purple sheen lining
the rent scales. The oaks had begun
to thrust forth the tender tips of
their new foliage, investing the wax
ing forest with tint of faint gray
ish red. as If to the infant leaves
some trace of the birth blush still
chung.
Upon the floor of the woods spring
had already spread carpet of infinite
color and design, new and bright and
still unsoiled-here a fancy spangled
pattern of spring beauties; there a
pattern of solid green where the may.
apples opened their umbrellas to the
light, In readiness to shield the
fragile flowers of white wax that were
soon to hover beneath their shelter.
Ing folds; and, draped over all, a
shimmering silver haze, the gracious
benediction of the skies.
The man stopped before crab
apple tree, the buds of which were
opened just enough to make one curl
Gus to see more of the beautiful
mystery folded teasingly away within
the protecting scales. Already some
bees, pioneers of their tribe, fused
about the aromatic clusters of peep
Ing color, gathering statistics on the
seasons honey crop.
A breeze stirred the trees. as If
the woods were taking q deeper
breath. Jack lifted his shoulders and
filled his lungs with the nectar-laden
life that rustled and quivered and
thrilled around him there gushed up
within him the Jubilate of a man
wooed by the genial day into almost
primal closeneSs to nature. He
dropped the butt Of the gun to the
leaves, leaned lightly upon it and
stood listening to the dull droning of
the bees.
A flash Of red famed through the
;rees and stopped almost directly
above his head in the top twigs of
hickory sapling and there swelled
out wild burst of reckless melody
that clothed the hickory with music
as the opening buds clothed the crab.
apple tree with beauty
II thought 50, oil warcoat," the
man muttered, glaneing up. "You
know where she is, don't y'u?"
He stepped softly toward the crab
apple tree-the wild song-burst In the
hickory ceasing the instant he moved
and peered in through the gnarled
limbs and tangled twigs.
Shrugged down among some drifted
dead leaves he found it, the treasure
that inspired the cardinals song-a
roughly built, deep little nest, and,
shining above its edge, a dark glossy
crest, some long tail feathers, short,
heavy, reddish bill and round gilt
tering eye, black as a dewberry.
He let the limb he had bent aside
swing slowly back into place and
stole away.
"Alw'ys two" ran his thought
"a pair; mates-it's natures way
Pheasants and cardinals and folks
they're all the same-though birds
- - A.,,o ,xybiia