a prickly feeling

Occasionally bachelor cowpokes stopped by the cabin to buy flatbread or to have their clothes mended　HKUE ENG. They were always welcomed, not for the money in their pocket but for their company. With no neighbors for twenty miles, it was lonely on the plains. The family and guests traded news, shared a meal, and were serenaded by Sir Gallant who was often the center of conversation.

　　One afternoon the younger daughter Mary noticed the canary sitting motionless on his perch. "Is Sir Gallant sick?" she asked in alarm.

　　"No. It's just a dark day outside　rental website for houses," her mother reassured her. "It'll be raining soon and he probably doesn't feel like singing."

　　The younger children accepted this explanation but not Rachel. She knew that while Sir Gallant stopped singing from time to time, he had always hopped about his cage. She went to the door and looked outside. It was deathly quiet, no wind or sounds of birds or prairie dogs　. She saw the outline of her father with the two oxen in the north field and at the same time she saw black thunderclouds stacked high into the sky. There was a heaviness to the air and a prickly feeling.

　　The Indian's words echoed in her mind. "It listens to the wind."