When it was time to think of going home, they gathered up their birds, and found they had killed fourteen—more than an average of four apiece. It was all they could do to pack the birds on their ponies, and they were compelled to walk them all the way to the ranche to keep the birds from falling off.
The next morning Joe took the turkeys to Fort Harker, where he disposed of them at a fair price, and received many thanks besides, for his prompt action in response to Colonel Keogh's request to go hunting for them.
CHAPTER XV
HOW THE ROBIN CAME TO KANSAS—MOCKING-BIRDS—EATEN BY SNAKES—JOE LOSES HIS TAME ELK—THE LAST OF THE WOLVES—FINDING THE QUAIL'S NEST—JOE BUILDS A CAGE FOR THEM—RAISING CHICKENS
The winter was short, and soon came April, with its sunny skies. The robins, wrens, blue jays, and the mocking-birds made the woods melodious with their sweet notes. The violets by the brook side under the shade of the great trees were the first harbingers of the beautiful season, and the dining-table was made odorous with their blue blossoms at every meal. Both Kate and Gertrude loved flowers, and never failed to gather three times a day, a large bowl full of these poems of springtime.
Mr. Tucker surprised them one evening by paying them a visit after a solitary hunting expedition up the creek. The boys soon persuaded him to stay the night, and tell them a story until bedtime.
"What shall it be, hunting or fighting?" said Mr. Tucker, turning to Joe.