brothers a bit ahead of the sister-folk. And the vagabond
brothers had been gay of garb--fresh black and white, with a touch of
buff. And Bob and his band had been gay of voice. The flock of them had
gathered in tree-tops and flooded the day with such mellow, laughing
melodies as the world can have only in springtime--and only as long as
the bobolinks last.

The ways of the springtime are for the spring, and those of the autumn
for the fall of the year. So Bob, who, when northward bound a few months
before, had taken part in the grand Festival of Song, now that he was
southward bound, partook of the great Feast of the Vagabonds, giving
himself whole-heartedly to each ceremony in turn, as a bobolink should,
for such are the time-honored customs of his folk.

Honored for how long a time we do not know. Longer than the memory of
man has known the rice-fields of South Carolina! Days long before that,
when elephants trod upon that ground, did those great beasts hear the
spring song of the bobolinks? Is the answer to that question buried in
the rocks with the elephants? Bob didn't know. He flew over, with never
a thought in his little head but for the Great Rice Trail leading him
southward to Florida.

While there, some travelers would have gone about and watched men cut
sponges, and have found out why Florida has a Spanish name. But not Bob!
The Feast of the Vagabonds, which had lasted well-nigh all the way from
Maryland, was still being observed, and even the stupidest person can
see that rice is better to eat than sponges or history.

Then, as suddenly as if their "Chink, chink, chink" meant "One, two,
three, away we go," the long feast was over, and their great flight
again called them to wing their way into the night. How they found Cuba
through the darkness, without knowing one star from another; what
brought them to an island in the midst of the water that was everywhere
alike--no man knows. But in Cuba they landed in good health and spirits.
This was in September,--a very satisfactory time for a bird-visit,--and
Bob and his comrades spent some little time there, it being October,
indeed, when they arrived on the island of Jamaica. Now Jamaica, so
people say who know the place, has a comfortable climate and thrilling
views; but it didn't satisfy Bob. Not for long! Something south of the
Amazon kept calling to him. Something that had called to his father and
to his grandfather and to all his ancestors, ever since bo