d at once get up and move around. Placed thus between two
directly conflicting duties, his conscience was torn. Then he
remembered his promise. His grit was good, and he determined to keep
his promise at all costs, no matter at what fatal consequence to his
legs. And he derived considerable comfort from the thought that, if
his leg should never be any use any more, his Uncle Andy would at least
be stricken with remorse.

Then, as the tenth minute dragged its enormous, trailing length along,
came that terrible feeling already alluded to--that he must either move
or burst. With poignant self-pity he argued the two desperate
alternatives within his soul. But, fortunately for him, before he felt
himself obliged to come to any final decision, something happened, and
his pain and doubts were forgotten.

Two big yellow-gray snowshoe rabbits came hopping lazily past, one just
ahead of the other. One jumped clean over Uncle Andy's out-stretched
feet, as if they were of no account or interest whatever to a rabbit.
The other stopped and thumped vigorously on the ground with his strong
hind foot. At this signal the first one also stopped. They both sat
up on their haunches, ears thrust forward in intense interrogation, and
gazed at the two moveless figures behind the poplar sapling.

The one immediately in front of him absorbed all the Child's attention.
Its great, bulging eyes surveyed him from head to foot, at first with
some alarm, then with half-contemptuous curiosity. Its immensely long
ears see-sawed meditatively, and its queer three-cornered mouth
twinkled incessantly as if it were talking to itself. At last,
apparently having decided that the Child was nothing worth taking
further notice of, it dropped on all fours, nibbled at a leaf,
discarded it, and hopped off to find more tasty provender. Its
companion, having "sized up" Uncle Andy in the same way, presently
followed. But being of the more suspicious disposition, it stopped
from time to time to glance back and assure itself that the strange,
motionless things behind the poplar sapling were not attempting to
follow it.

The Child was immensely interested. He thought of a lot of questions
to ask as soon as he should be allowed to speak, and he resolved to
remember every one of them. But just as he was getting them arranged a
small, low, long-bodied, snaky-slim, yellowish beast came gliding by
and drove them all clean out of his head. It was a weasel.