tter off than we were before."

"LET him fly," snorted Polynesia scornfully. "A parrot can wing it as
fast as a Biz-biz, I fancy. If he takes to the air, I'll guarantee not
to let the little devil out of my sight. And if he just crawls along the
ground you can follow him yourself."

"Splendid!" cried the Doctor. "Polynesia, you have a great brain. I'll
set him to work at once and see what happens."

Again we all clustered round the Doctor as he carefully lifted off the
glass lid and let the big beetle climb out upon his finger.

"Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home!" crooned Bumpo. "Your house is on fire
and your chil--"

"Oh, be quiet!" snapped Polynesia crossly. "Stop insulting him! Don't
you suppose he has wits enough to go home without your telling him?"

"I thought perchance he might be of a philandering disposition," said
Bumpo humbly. "It could be that he is tired of his home and needs to be
encouraged. Shall I sing him 'Home Sweet Home,' think you?"

"No. Then he'd never go back. Your voice needs a rest. Don't sing to
him: just watch him--Oh, and Doctor, why not tie another message to the
creature's leg, telling Long Arrow that we're doing our best to reach
him and that he mustn't give up hope?"

"I will," said the Doctor. And in a minute he had pulled a dry leaf from
a bush near by and was covering it with little pictures in pencil.

At last, neatly fixed up with his new mail-bag, Mr. Jabizri crawled off
the Doctor's finger to the ground and looked about him. He stretched his
legs, polished his nose with his front feet and then moved off leisurely
to the westward.

We had expected him to walk UP the mountain; instead, he walked AROUND
it. Do you know how long it takes a beetle to walk round a mountain?
Well, I assure you it takes an unbelievably long time. As the hours
dragged by, we hoped and hoped that he would get up and fly the rest,
and let Polynesia carry on the work of following him. But he never
opened his wings once. I had not realized before how hard it is for a
human being to walk slowly enough to keep up with a beetle. It was the
most tedious thing I have ever gone through. And as we dawdled along
behind, watching him like hawks lest we lose him under a leaf or
something, we all got so cross and ill-tempered we were ready to bite
one another's heads off. And when he stopped to look at the scenery or
polish his nose some more, I could hear Polynesia behind me letting out
the most dreadful seaf