rel with you just as you're going to leave us for a while.... We
shall miss you while you're gone," he added with a sly smile. "The place
will seem very quiet without your gobble."

"Yes, I dare say it will be lonesome around here," Turkey Proudfoot
agreed. "And I suppose things will be in a muddle in the farmyard by the
time I get back, with nobody to keep order there."

"I'll do the best I can while you're away," old dog Spot promised.

Turkey Proudfoot seemed doubtful that Spot could take his place.

"Keep your tail still when you bark," he told the old dog. "These
farmyard fowls won't pay much attention to you if they see your tail
a-wagging."

"I'll remember what you say," Spot answered.

"Be sure to keep a sharp eye on that Rooster." Turkey Proudfoot went on.
"I don't want him to get the idea into his head that he's running things
in this, farmyard."

"Very well!" said Spot. "Shall I let him crow a bit, if he wants to?"

"Let him crow--yes!" Turkey Proudfoot answered. "But if he starts to
gobbling--well, you'd better send for me at once."

"What about the Peacock?" Spot inquired wickedly. He knew that Turkey
Proudfoot was frightfully jealous of Johnnie Green's newest pet.

"The Peacock!" Turkey Proudfoot squawked. "Pull out his tail
feathers--every one of them! I've been intending to do that myself. But
I've been so busy that I haven't had the time for it."

Then they said good-by.

"You ought to tell me where you're going," Spot suggested. "If the
Rooster should gobble I must know where to find you."

So Turkey Proudfoot told him. He told him in such a low tone that nobody
else could hear.

XXIV

BROTHER TOM

It was almost dark in the cornfield on a crisp evening late in November.
It was not Farmer Green's field, but that of a neighbor of his. And it
was far from any house.

The pumpkins had been gathered weeks before. The cornstalks had long
since been cut and now stood in shocks amidst the stubble.

On the whole, the scene was bleak and dismal. Not a creature moved
anywhere. Even the meadow, mice had already found the nights too chilly
for their liking. Turkey Proudfoot was there alone, standing like a
statue, as if he were waiting for somebody.

"I don't see where he can be," Turkey Proudfoot muttered. "I've spent
three days and three nights here already. And he has never been late
before in all the years that I've been coming here for my vacation."

At last Turkey Proudfoot be