“Oh, I think there is. Don’t be abrupt about it; but just take a look at that lilac copse on the crest of the hill.”
“Can’t see any one there,” said Sedgwick.
“No more can I.”
“Then what makes you think there’s any one?”
“The traditional little bird told me.”
“Meaning, specifically?”
“Literally what I say. There’s the bird on that young willow. You can see for yourself it’s trying to impart some information.”
“I see a grasshopper-sparrow in a state of some nervousness. But grasshopper-sparrows are always fidgety.”
“This particular one has reason to be. She has a nest in that lilac patch. A few minutes ago she went toward it with a worm in her beak; hastily dropped the worm, and came out in a great state of mind. Hence I judge there is some intruder near her home.”
“Any guess who it is?”