iously over
by the stone wall. Then I looked around for the dead body, and so did
Mr. Man, but it wasn't there. 'Cause why? 'Cause Jimmy wasn't anywhere
near dead.

"How Mr. Man did scold because he didn't find any hedgehog lying
around loose! He blamed it on the gun; then he declared that it was
all owing to old Mr. Crow, and vowed he'd spend the rest of the week
hunting for the president of the club, just because he had warned
Jimmy. Well, he might hunt two weeks for Mr. Crow, and unless he came
upon him when the old fellow was asleep, I'll answer for it he
couldn't kill him, for the president of our club is always wide awake.

"Do you know, I've seen Mr. Man, his boy Tommy, and two of the
servants, out looking for that same old crow, and shooting off their
guns till you'd thought it was Fourth of July, and yet never a single
tail feather belonging to Mr. Crow was rumpled. When you catch Mr.
Weasel asleep you may kill that bird; but not before.

"Of course, when I saw that Jimmy had got away I started off after
him, for it wasn't pleasant to stay there while Mr. Man was in such a
rage, because he might try to get even with me on account of the
carrots, so off I toddled, taking precious good care to keep under
cover all the while, till I came to the big oak, and there was Jimmy,
washing his face. I can't make out how he succeeds in doing it without
nearly killing himself with the quills that stick up all over his
body.

"'He never touched me!' Jimmy said with a grin, when he saw me, and I
thought that was a good time to read him a lecture on the wicked folly
of being so careless when he knew as well as I do that everybody on
the farm is ready to kill one of the Hedgehog family, though why
people should be so down on Jimmy's folks I can't make out, for they
mind their business as a general rule.

"'You needn't talk to me,' Jimmy said before I'd more than half spoken
what was in my mind. 'After that jump of mine I'll back myself against
the whole farm gang.'

"'But you'd have stood there like a silly till your head was shot off
if it hadn't been for Mr. Crow,' I said, just a bit provoked because
Jimmy seemed to take all the credit of the escape to himself.

"'How do you know?' he asked, speaking as pert as ever did Cheeko.
'You can't tell, but I was getting ready to jump at the very minute
Mr. Crow came sailing around, as if he'd gone crazy.'

"Now what do you think of such talk as that from a fellow who had
b