if I carry you back to the pond? It's going
to be a dreadful job to fly such a distance with you hanging there;
but I'm willing to make the try if you'll agree that what Mr. Jay has
said will be the square thing.'

"Of course Mr. Turtle promised, for what else could he do while he was
up a tree so far, and all the members of the club who had come to
learn what was going on got out of the way to give Mr. Crow a fair
chance. It was a good deal like work to fly while his leg was being
pulled so badly; but he contrived to do it and, after watching until
he settled down at the edge of the pond, I began to look around for
Cheeko Squirrel.

"'Squire Owl and Professor Hawk had gone away, telling Mr. Porcupine
they were off for a picnic; but that didn't seem reasonable to me, for
the pair were not such very warm friends as all that, and I knew there
was trouble in store for Cheeko if he didn't watch out a good deal
sharper than I ever knew of his doing.

"I just wish you could have seen that squirrel when I found him
sitting at the front door of Sonny Hedgehog's hole, ready to get under
cover at the first sign of danger! Do you know, he really believed he
had tired out the 'Squire and that there wasn't any danger he could
come to harm!

"'You won't find me in a pickle, no matter how long you hunt,' he
said, shaking his tail till it really made me seasick. 'I'd like to
see the owl, or the hawk, for that matter, that I couldn't fool when I
laid myself right out to do the job. They've run things their own way
so long around here that they think everybody else must get off the
earth when they say the word. I'll show 'em what an up-to-date
squirrel can do.'

"'You'll be showing nothing mighty soon, Cheeko, if you don't take a
tumble to yourself,' I said, and I couldn't help speaking a bit short,
for it provoked me terribly to see him throwing out his chest as if he
were second cousin to Senator Bear. 'You're letting the 'Squire and
Professor Hawk shut your eye, that's what's the matter! I'm telling
you that those two have had their heads together to your harm, and
you'll soon know what they were talking about if you keep the idea in
your head that you're the biggest little animal in the woods. Take my
advice and get away from Crow's Corner for a while. There are some
nice ears of corn over on Mr. Man's place now and it would be a
pleasant little vacation to go there for a few days until this matter
simmers down a bit.'

"'Do