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| NO HUNTING ALLOWED |
| ON THIS FARM |
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He seemed slightly embarrassed when he showed them to Maria. "I
feel a little mite onfriendly, putting up signs like that 'fore
my neighbours," he admitted, "but the fact is, it ain't the
neighbours so much as it's boys that need raising, an' them town
creatures who call themselves sportsmen, an' kill a hummin'-bird
to see if they can hit it. Time was when trees an' underbrush
were full o' birds an' squirrels, any amount o' rabbits, an' the
fish fairly crowdin' in the river. I used to kill all the quail
an' wild turkeys about here a body needed to make an appetizing
change, It was always my plan to take a little an' leave a
little. But jest look at it now. Surprise o' my life if I get a
two-pound bass. Wild turkey gobblin' would scare me most out of
my senses, an', as for the birds, there are jest about a fourth
what there used to be, an' the crops eaten to pay for it. I'd do
all I'm tryin' to for any bird, because of its song an' colour,
an' pretty teeterin' ways, but I ain't so slow but I see I'm paid
in what they do for me. Up go these signs, an' it won't be a
happy day for anybody I catch trespassin' on my birds."

Maria studied the signs meditatively. "You shouldn't be forced
to put 'em up," she said conclusively. "If it's been decided 'at
it's good for 'em to be here, an' laws made to protect 'em,