Now silent, now gabbling all together, the flock would veer and scatter
and draw together again, and finally swing in toward the shore, every
neck drawn straight as a string the better to see what was going on.
Nearer and nearer they would come, till a swift rush out of the grass
sent them off headlong, splashing and quacking with crazy clamor. But
one or two always stayed behind with the wolves to pay the price of
curiosity.
Then there were the young geese, which gathered in immense flocks in the
shallow bays, preparing and drilling for the autumn flight. Late in the
afternoon the old mother wolf with her cubs would steal down through the
woods, hiding and watching the flocks, and following them stealthily as
they moved along the shore. At night the great flock would approach a
sandbar, well out of the way of rocks and brush and everything that
might hide an enemy, and go to sleep in close little family groups on
the open shore. As the night darkened four shadows would lengthen out
from the nearest bank of shadows, creeping onward to the sand-bar with
the slow patience of the hours.
Pages:
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83