“Surely, this is not true of all owls,” I said, and by reading further we learned that the barred, or hoot owl, and the great horned owl, were deserving of a surer aim of Merton’s gun.  They prey not only upon useful game, but also invade the poultry-yard, the horned species being especially destructive.  Instances were given in which these freebooters had killed every chicken upon a farm.  As they hunt only at night, they are hard to capture.  Their notes and natures are said to be in keeping with their deeds of darkness; for their cry is wild, harsh, and unearthly, while in temper they are cowardly, savage, and untamable, showing no affection even for each other.  A female has been known to kill and eat the male.

“The moral of this owl episode,” I concluded, “is that we must learn to know our neighbors, be they birds, beasts, or human beings, before we judge them.  This book is not only full of knowledge, but of information that is practical and useful.  I move that we read up about the creatures in our vicinity.  What do you say, Merton? wouldn’t it be well to learn what to shoot, as well as how to shoot?”

Protecting his hands with buckskin gloves, the boy applied mutton suet to our wounded owl’s wing.  It was eventually healed, and the bird was given its liberty.  It gradually became sprightly and tame, and sociable in the evening, affording the children and Junior much amusement.

By the 7th of April there was a prospect of warmer and more settled weather, and Mr. Jones told us to lose no time in uncovering our Antwerp raspberries.  They had been bent down close to the ground the previous winter and covered with earth.  To remove this without breaking the canes, required careful and skilful work.  We soon acquired the knack, however, of pushing and throwing aside the soil, then lifting the canes gently through what remained, and shaking them clear.

“Be careful to level the ground evenly,” Mr. Jones warned us, “for it won’t do at all to leave hummocks of dirt around the hills;” and we followed his instructions.

The canes were left until a heavy shower of rain washed them clean; then Winnie and Bobsey tied them up.  We gave steady and careful attention to the Antwerps, since they would be our main dependence for income.  I also raked in around the hills of one row a liberal dressing of wood ashes, intending to note its effect.

CHAPTER XXVI

A COUNTRY SUNDAY

Hitherto the Sabbaths had been stormy and the roads bad, and we had given the days to rest and family sociability.  But at last there came a mild, sunny morning, and we resolved to find a church-home.  I had heard that Dr. Lyman, who preached in the nearest village had the faculty of keeping young people awake.  Therefore we harnessed the old bay-horse to our market-wagon, donned our “go-ter-meetin’s,” as Junior called his Sunday clothes, and started.