if you'll believe it,
I'd struck Grandfather Fox's hole, and he wasn't at home on account of
having his hide nailed up on Mr. Man's barn, so there I was all by my
lonesome, with Mr. Towser scratching gravel at a great rate; but I
knew he could wear his claws way down to the flesh before getting in,
for Grandfather Fox knew how to dig a house that would protect him
from dogs.

"I didn't have to wait so very long before Mr. Towser got tired of
scratching, and then I crept out, counting on going straight home, for
it stood to reason that Mrs. Bunny and Sonny Bunny would be worried
because I'd been away so long; but before I'd taken half a dozen hops
whom should I hear calling me but Cheeko's oldest boy.

"'You're to go straight up to the club, Mr. Rabbit,' he said when I
stopped short to look over my left shoulder for luck. 'Mr. Crow has
called a meeting right away, and all the members of both sections are
expected to be on hand. Bobby Coon is dead, and old Mr. Slowly Turtle
is ready to swear that he heard Jimmy Hedgehog stumping the poor
fellow to tackle Mr. Towser.'

"When I got to the big oak it seemed as if every member of the club
was waiting for me, and I felt really bashful when the president
croaked:

"'Here comes Mr. Rabbit, and now we shall be able to get at the truth
of the matter, for even though he hasn't very much courage, he will
always tell the truth.'

"Just think of that! It was the same as being called a coward after
all I'd done to prevent it, and if I'd behaved myself in the first
place, poor Bobby might have been alive at that very minute! Yes,
Jimmy Hedgehog was there, and you could see that he was feeling mighty
grouchy, for he'd rolled himself into a ball, with his quills sticking
out in every direction. I could just see the tip of his nose and one
eye, and by the way he looked at me I knew he was practically
threatening to serve me out if I should say anything he didn't like.

"Mr. Crow didn't give me any chance to look around after he saw me
eyeing Jimmy, for he called me up to the foot of the tree, and all
hands crowded near, as if I were the fellow who was having a trial,
instead of being only a witness.

"'It has been reported to me as the president of this club that you
heard young Hedgehog urging Bobby Coon to trifle with Mr. Towser, by
doing which he lost his life. You are accused of being in Mr. Coon's
company at the time, and those who saw you claim that you did not even
so much