CHAPTER VIII
A DREADFUL VISITOR
Ready finished his dinner slowly, stretched himself out in the grass, and waited for the Sandpiper to appear. He was quite near the beach now and knew, of course, that the Sandpiper would take him along the water’s edge.
How he hoped he would not have a long wait! Life lately had been so full of waiting, waiting, nothing but waiting!
He began to feel very sleepy, and then suddenly he heard something laugh. It was not a pleasant laugh—it was low and harsh, and disagreeable.
Ready started up and found the queerest creature gazing down at him. It looked something like a bird, something like a bat, and not unlike a rooster. It had dreadful colors on it, reds and greens and queer purples which somehow reminded you of all the unpleasant things you had ever seen. When the creature laughed, it reminded you of all the unpleasant things you had ever heard.
“Nonsense,” snarled the creature
“The Sandpiper won’t come,” it said hoarsely. “The bats never sent him the message. I’m a relative, and I guess I know.”
“But he promised,” said Ready.
“Nonsense,” snarled the creature. “What’s a bat’s promise worth? The Sandpiper will never come, and as for you, you will go on and on and never get anywhere!”
“Oh, oh, oh!” said Ready, and then something went crack, whack, thack!
He jumped up and looked about. Not a thing was there. His bones ached, his tail felt bent and queer, and his eyes were heavy.
“Why, I do believe I have been asleep,” he said. “It’s all a dream, a kind of nightmare. Although the sun is shining so brightly, I suppose it should be called a daymare.”
He arose, blinked, stretched his legs, and shook himself to keep his heart from getting too heavy. “The Sandpiper will come. The Sandpiper will come,” he said.
Then he looked down the beach, and away off in the distance he saw a little dark, moving object. Then he heard a low, sweet call: “Peet weet, peet weet.”
“That,” said Ready, with a joyful bark, “is the Sandpiper.” And it was.
“That,” said Ready, “is the Sandpiper”