Here and there were little holes hollowed out by the spring floods. Miniature falls gurgled over dead leaves. Graceful ferns fringed the creek's banks. Mosses covered the bowlders.
Through the foliage danced the rays of the bright sun, casting wavering shadows over the leaf-covered ground.
"Here is the pond!" cried Susie.
But the pond that formed the reservoir of the creek was now nearly drained, and in place of water there was a swamp filled with reeds, rushes, and grasses. A small clear pool remained in the center.
[Illustration: Blackbirds.]
On the tall reeds swaying to and fro piped a family of blackbirds, busily chattering to each other. Overhead in the cloudless sky floated a huge hawk.
"In the spring this ground is all covered with water; it makes quite a large lake," said Mr. Leonard.
"You thought of draining off the water and turning the pond into a cornfield, didn't you, father?" asked Mrs. Leonard.
"Yes," said Mr. Leonard; "by digging a ditch or making the channel deeper at the outlet, this would become dry land the year around. The soil is deep and rich-better even than the bottom land."
"That would spoil the creek, wouldn't it, father?" asked Frank.