nlight, but yet it was
considerably lighter there than in the thicket; consequently the
instant the 'Squire popped his head out he had to shut his eyes, of
course, so by the time he struck the ground Cheeko had jumped aside.

"If the foolish squirrel had been satisfied with thus giving 'Squire
Owl the slip, he might have boasted for many a day about going
straight into the old fellow's trap and coming out again without a
scratch; but he must needs scream and laugh as if it were something
very funny, and then Professor Hawk came into the game. Down he flew,
aiming straight for Cheeko, and, with never a care as to how brightly
the sun might shine, for there's nothing the matter with his eyes, and
then was the time when I believed Master Cheeko was down and out for
good. And so he would have been but for Mr. Crow, who, forgetting the
trick Cheeko had played on him, dropped down from the top of the old
oak more quickly than I ever saw a bird move before, fluttering his
wings directly under the Professor's beak just as he was on the point
of snapping up a fat squirrel, who would have delighted the stomachs
of the little Hawks.

"Even though Mr. Crow moved so swiftly, it was the narrowest kind of
squeak for Cheeko. The Professor's claws struck his back, cutting
through his coat in three or four places, and he received such a blow
that it was quite as much as he could do to scramble among the
raspberry bushes, which, fortunately, grew near at hand. He didn't
have his tail over his head then, and that's a fact; but he was about
as discouraged an animal as you ever saw. How that old owl did rave
and scold when he found that Cheeko had got off alive! He accused
every member of the club with having had a paw or a wing in his
defeat, and threatened with many a needless word to pay us off even
though he had to spend every minute of his time for the next month.

"The Professor didn't say anything; but flew up on Mr. Crow's perch,
looking sour as vinegar, and I said to myself then that he was the one
we had the most reason to fear. You could tell by the look in his eye
that he was already thinking up some wicked plan, and I really had
palpitation of the heart because of imagining what he might be able to
do if he set himself right down to getting revenge.

"If you'll believe it, I didn't dare stay at the foot of the tree
where I could see the evil glare in his eyes, even though I was snug
among the thorn bushes; but hopped off thr