to let the hens out and feed them. At last he ventured to speak
again.

"Ah reckons yo' done forget something," said he.

"What is that?" asked Jimmy.

"Ah reckons yo' done fo'get that it's most time fo' Farmer Brown's boy
to come, and it won't do fo' we-uns to be found in here," replied Unc'
Billy.

"I'm not worrying about Farmer Brown's boy. He can come as soon as he
pleases," retorted Jimmy Skunk, and grinned.

That sounded like boasting, but it wasn't. No, Sir, it wasn't, and Unc'
Billy knew it. He knew that Jimmy meant it. Unc' Billy was in despair.
He didn't dare stay, and he didn't dare go down and face Jimmy Skunk,
and there he was. It certainly had been a bad night for Unc' Billy
Possum.

XX

FARMER BROWN'S BOY ARRIVES

The light crept farther under the door of Farmer Brown's henhouse, and
by this time the hens were all awake. Furthermore, they had discovered
Jimmy Skunk down below and were making a great fuss. They were cackling
so that Unc' Billy was sure Farmer Brown's boy would soon hear them and
hurry out to find out what the noise was all about.

"If yo' would just get out of sight, Brer Skunk, Ah reckons those fool
hens would keep quiet," Unc' Billy ventured.

"I don't mind their noise. It doesn't trouble me a bit," replied Jimmy
Skunk, and grinned. It was plain enough to Unc' Billy that Jimmy was
enjoying the situation.

But Unc' Billy wasn't. He was so anxious that he couldn't keep still. He
paced back and forth along the shelf in front of the upper row of nests
and tried to make up his mind whether it would be better to go down and
face Jimmy Skunk or to try to hide under the hay in one of the nests,
and all the time he kept listening and listening and listening for the
footsteps of Farmer Brown's boy.

At last he heard them, and he knew by the sound that Farmer Brown's boy
was coming in a hurry. He had heard the noise of the hens and was coming
to find out what it was all about. Unc' Billy hoped that now Jimmy Skunk
would retreat through the hole in the floor and give him a chance to
escape.

"He's coming! Farmer Brown's boy is coming, Brer Skunk! Yo' better get
away while yo' can!" whispered Unc' Billy.

"I hear him," replied Jimmy calmly. "I'm waiting for him to open the
door for me to go out. It will be much easier than squeezing through
that hole."

Unc' Billy gasped. He knew, of course, that it was Jimmy Skunk's boast
that he feared no one, but it was hard to believe