g?" asked Happy Jack eagerly, before Tommy had
a chance to say a word.

[Illustration: "DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.]

Tommy nodded. "He's there!" he panted, for he was quite out of breath
from hurrying so.

"Where?" Happy Jack fairly shouted the question.

"Over there in the house," replied Tommy Tit.

"Then he hasn't gone away! It's just as I said, he hasn't gone away!"
cried Happy Jack, and he was so relieved that he jumped up and down and
as a result nearly tumbled out of the tree.

"No," replied Tommy, "he hasn't gone away, but I think there is
something the matter with him."

Happy Jack grew very sober. "What makes you think so?" he demanded.

"If you'll give me time to get my breath, I'll tell you all about it,"
retorted Tommy Tit.

"All right, only please hurry," replied Happy Jack, and tried to look
patient even if he wasn't.

Tommy Tit smoothed out some rumpled feathers and was most provokingly
slow about it. "When I left here," he began at last, "I flew straight up
to Farmer Brown's house, as I said I would. I flew all around it, but
all I saw was that horrid Black Pussy on the back doorsteps, and she
looked at me so hungrily that she made me dreadfully uncomfortable. I
don't see what Farmer Brown keeps her about for, anyway."

"Never mind her; go on!" interrupted Happy Jack.

"Then I flew all around the barn, but I didn't see any one there but
that ugly little upstart, Bully the English Sparrow, and he wanted to
pick a fight with me right away." Tommy looked very indignant.

"Never mind him, go on!" cried Happy Jack impatiently.

"After that I flew back to the big maple tree close by the house,"
continued Tommy. "You know Farmer Brown's boy has kept a piece of suet
tied in that tree all winter for me. I was hungry, and I thought I
would get a bite to eat, but there wasn't any suet there. That pig of a
Sammy Jay had managed to get it untied and had carried it all away. Of
course that made me angry, and twice as hungry as before. I was trying
to make up my mind what to do next when I happened to look over on the
window sill, and what do you think I saw there?"

"What?" demanded Happy Jack eagerly.

"A lot of cracked hickory nuts!" declared Tommy. "I just knew that they
were meant for me, and when I was sure that the way was clear, I flew
over there. They tasted so good that I almost forgot about Farmer
Brown's boy, when I just happened to look in the window. You know