tive blow. At the same time, being very
clever indeed, the rat kept tugging, tugging, tugging at the cord. And
the She imp, being quite gone out of her mind with the terror of that
clutch on her leg, kept flapping crazily at the end of the cord instead
of turning to, like a sensible crow, and helping her brother in the
fight.

"As she grew weaker and weaker in her struggles, the cunning rat drew
her lower and lower, till at last she seemed fairly within his reach.
He lifted himself on his hindquarters to snap his long teeth into her
thigh and spring to the ground with her, where he would have her
completely at his mercy. But as he rose the He imp, at sight of his
sister's deadly peril, lost all sense of caution, and struck again with
all his strength of beak and wing. And once more the rat, fairly
bursting with rage, was swept to the ground.

"He was back to the attack again in a moment, and now more dangerous
than ever. And at the same time the She imp, utterly worn out at last
by her panic terror and her foolish violence, sank shuddering down upon
her perch. Her brother struck the rat again frantically when the
latter was halfway up the scarecrow's leg, but this time failed to
dislodge him. And it looked as if the poor She imp would never again
steal a strawberry or worry a pigeon. But at this moment the Boy
appeared in the garden. He came running up noiselessly, anxious to see
all that was happening. But the rat heard him. The rat had no use for
the Boy whatever. He knew that the whole human race was his enemy. He
dropped from the scarecrow's trouser leg and scurried off to his hole
beneath the toolhouse. The Boy, his face a mixture of amusement and
concern, picked up the captive without noticing her feeble pecks, undid
the noose from her leg, and carried her over the hedge to rest and
recover herself.

"'Now,' said he, 'you little imp of Satan, maybe you'll not come
stealing any more of my strawberries or pulling any more straw out of
my poor scarecrow's head!'

"And she never did!" concluded Uncle Andy, rising and stretching his
legs. "Those two were not _reformed_, you may be sure. But they kept
clear, after that, of the Boy's strawberry patch, and of _all
scarecrows_. It's time we were getting back to camp for supper, or
Bill will be feeling sour."

"But you haven't told me," protested the Babe, who had a most tenacious
memory, "why those crows all flew away out of the pine-top so suddenly,