“He wouldn’t fly off, would he?”

“I should say he would,” answered Frank, with a laugh.  “He’d leave like a streak of lightning.”

“That’s news to me.  I always thought owls couldn’t see in the day-time.  Natural history says so.”

“I know it,” said Frank.  “But there is one thing certain:  they must be able to see a little, or else their sense of smell or hearing is very acute for it is very difficult to get a shot at them, even in the day-time.  That one in our museum led me a chase of half a day before I shot him, and I had a rifle, too.”

“What is to be done now?” inquired Archie.  “We don’t want to stand here in the rain much longer.”

“We must wait until he flies into the woods, or somewhere else, so that we can get a shot at him.”

“I can make him fly.  I’ve killed squirrels further off than that, many a time.  Suppose I shoot at him?”

“Shoot away; but you must remember that an owl and a squirrel are two different things.  The thick feathers of the owl will glance a charge of shot that would blow a squirrel to pieces.”

Archie made no reply, but crawled up behind a thick cluster of currant-bushes that grew close by the fence, and, thrusting his gun between the branches, was settling himself into a comfortable position, when the owl suddenly leaped from his perch, and flew off toward the woods, as Frank had said he would, “like a streak of lightning,” followed by the whole flock of his tormentors, which screamed with all their might.

“Now’s our time,” said Frank.  “Come on!”

And, clearing the fence at a bound, he started across the meadow at the top of his speed.  Archie followed close at his heels, and a few minutes run brought them to the edge of the woods.

“Now the hunt begins in earnest,” said Frank, “We must separate; we shall make too much noise if we go together.”

“Where’s the owl?” inquired Archie.

“As near as I can guess, he must be in that tall hemlock,” answered Frank, pointing through the woods toward the tree in question.

Archie immediately moved cautiously off in the direction indicated, leaving his cousin to take care if himself.

Guided by the noise made by the crows, he soon discovered the owl, not where Frank had supposed him to be, but on a tree that stood to the right, and several rods further off.  Placing a large tree between himself and the game, he threw himself on his hands and knees, and crawled along as silently as possible, taking good care to keep out of sight of the crows.