But The Little Rebel Was Not
To Be Caught; At The Right Moment He Fled From The Coming Tempest To
His Parents And Claimed Their Protection.
Then the whole matter had to
be inquired into, and the big boy was told that he was not to thrash
his little brother, that he himself was to blame for everything on
account of the extravagant language he had used, which the poor little
fellow had taken quite seriously.
If he actually believed _The Tin
Box_ article was going to have that disastrous effect on him, who
could blame him for destroying it?
That was the end of _The Tin Box_; not a word about starting it
afresh was said, and from that day my elder brother never mentioned
it. But years later I came to think it a great pity that the scheme
had miscarried. I believe, from later experience, that even if it had
lasted but a few weeks it would have given me the habit of recording
my observations, and that is a habit without which the keenest
observation and the most faithful memory are not sufficient for the
field naturalist. Thus, through the destruction of the Tin Box, I
believe I lost a great part of the result of six years of life with
wild nature, since it was not until six years after my little
brother's rebellious act that I discovered the necessity of making a
note of every interesting thing I witnessed.
CHAPTER XIX
BROTHERS
Our third and last schoolmaster - His many accomplishments - His
weakness and final breakdown - My important brother - Four brothers,
unlike in everything except the voice - A strange meeting - Jack the
Killer, his life and character - A terrible fight - My brother seeks
instructions from Jack - The gaucho's way of fighting and Jack's
contrasted - Our sham fight with knives - A wound and the result - My
feeling about Jack and his eyes - Bird-lore - My two elder brothers'
practical joke.
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