not to answer when I get a call, an' the fact is, I'm CALLED down
beside the river."

"Wet year! Wet year!" rolled the Cardinal's prediction.

"Thanky, old fellow! Glad to hear you! Didn't jest need the
information, but I got my bearin's rightly from it! I can about
pick out your bush, an' it's well along towards evenin', too, an'
must be mighty near your bedtime. Looks as if you might be
stayin' round these parts! I'd like it powerful well if you'd
settle right here, say 'bout where you are. An' where are you,
anyway?"

Abram went peering and dodging beside the fence, peeping into the
bushes, searching for the bird. Suddenly there was a whir of
wings and a streak of crimson.

"Scared you into the next county, I s'pose," he muttered.

But it came nearer being a scared man than a frightened bird, for
the Cardinal flashed straight toward him until only a few yards
away, and then, swaying on a bush, it chipped, cheered, peeked,
whistled broken notes, and manifested perfect delight at the
sight of the white-haired old man. Abram stared in astonishment.

"Lord A'mighty!" he gasped. "Big as a blackbird, red as a live
coal, an' a-comin' right at me. You are somebody's pet, that's
what you are! An' no, you ain't either. Settin' on a sawed
stick in a little wire house takes all the ginger out of any
bird, an' their feathers are always mussy. Inside o' a cage