And above the old Mill House the darkness, led by
the birds, flowed on to meet the quivering Dawn.
CHAPTER XVII
A DAY HAS COME
MARIA'S PARTICULAR ADVENTURE
The day was hardly born, and still unsure of itself, when a robin with
its tail cocked up stood up alertly on the window-sill of Uncle
Felix's bedroom, peeped in through the open sash, and noticed the
objects in front of it with a certain deliberation.
These objects were half in shadow, but, unlike those it was most
familiar with, they did not move in the breeze that stirred the world
outside. The robin had just swung up from a lilac branch below. Its
toes were spread to their full extent for balancing purposes. It
peeped busily in all directions. Then, suddenly, a big object at the
far end of the darkened room moved slowly underneath a mass of white,
as Uncle Felix, aware that some one was watching him, rolled over in
his bed, opened his sleepy eyes, and stared. At the same moment the
robin twitched, and fixed its brilliant glance upon him. It had found
the particular object that it sought.
Uncle Felix, somewhat dazed by sleep and dreams, saw the tight, fat
body of the bird outlined against the open sky, but thought at first
it was an eagle or a turkey, until perspective righted itself, and
enabled him to decide that it was a robin only.
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