you suppose I'm going to let those old birds think I'm afraid of
them?' Cheeko asked, bold as brass, and it was no use for me to try to
keep my temper within bounds any longer.

"'Of course you're afraid of them!' I cried. 'It only proves that
you've fallen in love with yourself, when you talk like that, and I'm
not going to waste any more time on you.'

"'Nobody asked you for your time, you long-eared, bob-tailed old
fraud!' Cheeko said, swinging his tail in the most impudent manner
imaginable, and I hopped off, determined that I'd never raise a paw in
his behalf, no matter how much trouble he might be in; but, of course,
when it seemed certain he'd be made over into a pie, as I'm going to
tell you about, I quite forgot that he had insulted me when I was
trying to do him a favor.

"I left him at the door of Sonny Hedgehog's home and went down toward
the pond to see what luck poor old Slowly had in scraping the mud off
his shell; but before reaching there whom should I come across but the
'Squire and the Professor hunting for nuts. Now you know as well as I
do that there isn't a member of either the Owl or the Hawk family who
has a hankering for nuts. Of course there was some mischief in the
wind and I had a pretty good idea that Cheeko was the particular nut
they were looking for, so I hid behind a lot of ferns till I'd got at
the root of their scheme.

"It was too early in the season to find nuts on the ground; but they
didn't come to realize that until after searching around among the
leaves a long while and then the Professor flew into the top of the
walnut tree, where he nipped off two or three. Then he came down to
where the 'Squire was waiting for him and said with a chuckle:

"'Just as soon as that fool crow gets back, all the members of the
club will gather near the oak tree to hear what he has to say about
the mix-up with Slowly Turtle. Of course Cheeko will be there too, for
there is nothing going on around these woods that he doesn't try to
have a paw in. We'll put the nuts where he'll see them, and you shall
get in the shade where the sun won't hurt your eyes. Then, if he isn't
your meat, I'll agree to furnish the dinners to-morrow.'

"The idea of two big bullies taking so much time to get the best of
one little squirrel! I forgot all about Cheeko's impudence to me and,
instead of looking after old Mr. Turtle, I scuttled back through the
bushes to watch the villains while they laid their trap."