s jutting
from it; it had round bright eyes, which blinked curiously at the
astonished girls. Below the head were--arms, were they, or wings? They
were feathery too, and they drooped over something that might be a
skirt, though no feet were visible. In the gathering twilight the figure
sat on the window-seat and blinked, looking like nothing that was in
heaven or earth; and the three girls stood and stared, holding each
other's hands. Presently the silence was broken.

"Bubo Virginianus!" said a grave, melodious voice from under the
feathers. "The Great Horned Owl. Description: Large and strongly
organised; ear-tufts large, erectile; bill strong, fully curved; wing
rather long; third quill usually longest; tail short; legs and toes--"

"Grace!" cried Gertrude Merryweather.

"Tu whit!" replied the figure. "I may also in this connection remark, tu
whoo! This well-known bird is a resident in all the New England
schools--I should say States--throughout the year. It is not so common
in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island as in the other States,
where, in the vast tracts of forest, it is quite abundant. Samuels. Easy
there! spare the Plumage!"

The three girls had flung themselves upon the strange figure, which
flapped its arms for a moment, as if contemplating flight. Then, waving
them off with one arm, it lifted the feathered head, and gazed at them
with melancholy blue eyes.

"Tu whit!" repeated the Scapegoat. "I may be allowed, _in_ this
connection, to repeat, tu whoo! Don't kill me, Innocent; I should be
less useful dead."

It did seem as if they would hug her to death. They laughed, they cried,
they questioned, they talked, all in one breath; no one would have
recognised the sedate Owls or the sensible Peggy. Grace regarded them
with grave benignity, as she untied the owl's head, and loosed the
feathered cape from her shoulders.

"Rather neat, I thought?" she said, turning the head around on her hand.
"The beak is a little wobbly, but the general character--eh?--is pretty
good? I couldn't manage the toes and claws; there wasn't time, and,
besides, they would have excited remark, even if the weather had been
warm enough to make them comfortable for travelling. Well, my Snowy, my
Fluffy, how is it? Is there room for another Owl in the forest?"

"Oh, Grace!" cried Bertha.

"Oh, my dear!" cried Gertrude; and their arms were around her again,
while Peggy sat down on the floor and fairly burst into tears.