(Page Twenty-Seven)

ZIP

The
Adventures
of a
Frisky
Fox Terrier
by

Frances Trego Montgomery

Author of BILLY WHISKERS

Illustrated by
Violet Moore Higgins

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

ZIP

OR

The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier

CHAPTER I

Zip belongs to Dr. Elsworth, who lives in the big, white house with the green blinds on the edge of the village of Maplewood. And at the present minute he is asleep on the front porch on a soft cushion in an old-fashioned rocking-chair that is swaying gently to and fro, dreaming of the days when he was a puppy chasing the white spot on the end of his tail, thinking it was something following him. And how he would bark at it and run around and around after it until he was so dizzy he would fall over! Then when the ground stopped spinning round, he would get up and go after it again, barking all the time for it to stop following him. Silly little puppy that he was, not to know it was his own tail he was chasing! Often he would bark so loudly in his sleep that it would awaken him, but he would soon fall asleep again and go on dreaming. Sometimes he would be chasing cows, holding on to their long tails; at others, squawking, cackling chickens or anything else that happened to be in the road.

One day when thus dreaming, he was just about to pull a mouthful of tail feathers out of Parson Higgins' pet rooster when the latch on the front gate clicked. Zip was awake in a minute, sitting up on the cushion with ears sticking straight up and every nerve alert to see who was coming in the doctor's yard.

The first look showed him a ragged tramp with battered hat, unshaven face and a bundle of clothes tied up in a dirty, faded red handkerchief strung on a cane over his shoulder. That one look was enough, for if there was one thing Zip despised and detested more than any other, it was a tramp. And for this one to dare to try to come in the front gate—the gate he never allowed anyone to enter unless they were well dressed—was more than he could stand, and he flew at the fellow as if he were the size of a lion and was going to devour him on the spot.

As for the tramp, he hated dogs as much as they hated him. It had been his experience that little dogs had just as sharp teeth as big ones and were much harder to drive off, as they were so quick they could get around and snap a piece out of one's shins before one could help himself. So when he saw Zip bound off the chair and come running toward him with bristles raised and teeth showing, he slammed the gate and started off down the road.

But here he did a silly thing. Instead of going off about his business, he stooped, picked up a stone and threw it at Zip, hitting him squarely on the side and hurting him dreadfully, as the stone was large and sharp. This was too much. He, Zip, would have a piece of that tramp's leg or he would know the reason why! The tramp thought he was safe in hitting the dog as the gate was shut and the fence high. But whoever yet has succeeded in shutting a little dog in a yard by a high fence? Not many people, I am sure, for the dog will always find a hole to crawl through or a pale off where he can squeeze through, or, not finding these, he will dig a hole under the fence. And this is what Zip had done many weeks before, for he found it necessary to have some place he could get through in a hurry to go after the school children who delighted in teasing him. So now quick as a flash he ran for this hole, which was well hidden by a big lilac bush, and before the tramp even knew he was coming, Zip was through the hole and had his little, sharp teeth buried in his shin. With a cry of surprise and pain, the tramp turned to see what had hurt him. When he saw the little dog, he raised his cane to strike him, but as it came down Zip let go his hold and grabbed the bundle that was on the end of the cane and made off with it. This infuriated the tramp and he hobbled after Zip, calling him all sorts of bad names as he came. This Zip did not mind in the least, but kept right on dragging the bundle along with him as he ran down the road.

Now this bundle was round and heavy, and hard for such a small dog to carry, and it kept tripping him up and rolling him over. But he hung on with the tenacity of a bulldog until he saw the tramp was going to overtake him. Then he decided not to try to carry it to the hole in the fence, but to jump the ditch and drop it in the frog pond. The tramp was almost upon him now and had his cane raised to hit him, but when it came down, it hit the earth, not the dog, for just at that moment Zip had made a flying leap over the ditch, taking the bundle with him.

Once there, he dragged it along or held it up off the ground by stretching his neck up high until he came to the edge of the frog pond. Then he let go and watched it disappear under the water.

By this time the tramp was simply furious and was threatening to catch and kill him, while all the time the saucy little dog barked back, "Better catch me before you kill me!"

Splash! went a big stone in the water, and if it had hit Zip, it certainly would have killed him as it was so big, but he jumped aside just in time. Then what did this mischievous, daring little dog do but stand perfectly still and watch the tramp come after him, wading through the tall, wet marsh grass, stumbling as he came. He was within five feet of Zip and was just thinking, "One more step and I can reach him!" when the long tangle grass caught one foot and threw him face down in the soft, oozy mud.

Zip barked a bark that sounded more like a laugh than a bark, making the tramp more determined than ever to kill him, even if he had to fall forty times before he caught him.

Had the tramp stopped to think, he might have known that the dog was going to play some trick on him, for who ever heard of a dog standing still while a man with a big, heavy cane was bearing down on him to brain him? But the tramp was far too angry to reason. All he thought of was to kill the dog that had bitten him and then ran off with his clothes. He picked himself up as best he could, and made a spring at Zip, bringing his cane down at the same time. But as before, when the cane came down there was no dog under it. Zip had jumped into the frog pond and was quietly swimming to the opposite shore.

When he saw this the tramp tore his hair with rage, threw clods of mud at him and fairly yelled with fury, while Zip walked out of the water as if no one were near, shook himself dry and trotted off home down the other side of the pond, leaving the tramp lying on his stomach trying to fish his bundle of clothes out of the water.

Suddenly Zip stopped short, pricked up his ears and listened. Yes, he was right! He had heard the doctor's low, peculiar, penetrating whistle. That meant he was about to start on his rounds to see his patients. He never went without Zip sitting up on the seat beside him in his old-fashioned buggy.

Zip loved these daily trips, for he was a most active, nervous, curious, little dog, and always wanted to know what was going on throughout the village, and these rides gave him a splendid opportunity to find out. While the doctor was in visiting his patients, Zip would jump out of the buggy and go around to the back of the house to call on the family's cat or dog, whichever it happened to be. And though you may not know it, these animals in every household know what is going on in the home from garret to cellar, as well as all the family secrets and neighborhood gossip. So you see Zip was a regular news-gatherer, and he not only gathered the news in that way, but he spread it as he went along with the doctor from house to house, so that anyone hearing Zip talk did not need to read the newspaper to find out all the village gossip. He knew of all the births, weddings and funerals as well as the lovers' quarrels long before anyone else, for generally he was on the spot when they happened. Neither did he mind listening when he saw two young people of the opposite sex strolling down some shady lane, or hanging over a garden gate. And like all gossips, he was never happy until he had told someone all the latest news he had gathered.

The one to whom he enjoyed telling things the most was the big, yellow cat that lived at the doctor's and was the special pet of the cook. The cat's name was Tabby, and she was a big, comfortable, good-natured cat who stayed at home and minded her own business. She was also a good listener, which Zip considered one of her best qualities. Like all talkative people, he would rather do the talking and have someone else do the listening. Consequently Tabby just suited him. After he had come back with the doctor from making his last call for the day, Zip and Tabby would curl up on the front porch or on a garden seat and he would talk away into the night or until time for him to make the rounds of the place. This as a watch dog he felt it his duty to do once or twice during the night, while Tabby went to the barn to catch mice.

His especial bit of gossip this night was that two storks had brought twins to Mrs. Brown's home the night before and that the sudden surprise of two babies coming to her house in the middle of the night had made her ill and she had taken to her bed and called the doctor.

"Just like Mrs. Brown to do a thing like that—throw up her hands and give up instead of hustling around heating some milk for the poor little things who must have been hungry after their long journey down from the clouds," sputtered Zip.

To which sage remark Tabby assented.

Another bit of news was that the ladies of the Episcopal Church were going to give a strawberry festival in the Sunday School rooms on Wednesday evening, and all were cordially invited to attend and to bring their friends. Admission, twenty-five cents each.

"This will be nice for us," remarked Zip, "for while Martha is away, we can steal into the milk cellar and lick the cream off the pans. Of course in the morning she will wonder why old Bess, the red cow, did not give as rich milk as usual. But she will think that the chore boy did not feed her enough bran, for she would never suspect Tabby, her pet, of doing such a mean thing!"

And of her own accord, Tabby never would, had not Zip put her up to it.

The next was that Sophie Hooper and James Steadman were going to be married at last. And he was glad of it, for one, for he had seen them courting on the little bridge that crossed the creek in the valley for the last year!

Another was that Mr. Stubbins had a new dog, a red setter hunting dog, which he believed he was going to hate as it had barked at him from its kennel when he ran around the house to see their white cat and pass the time of day with her while the doctor was making a call across the street.

"And really, Tabby, from the way that dog barked and pulled on his chain, I am sure he would have eaten me up could he have gotten at me! But just wait until he finds who I am, and I guess he will quiet down!"

CHAPTER II

"Come with me until I get a drink and take a swim in the watering trough to get off this mud, and then I will tell you my news. And be prepared for a big surprise."

"Land sakes!" exclaimed Tabby. "Who has gone and hung himself to the rafters of his barn? Or has someone's house burned down with them in it?"

"No, it is neither of those things, and you might as well stop guessing and prepare to listen to what I tell you, for you will never know it otherwise, as I am the only one in the whole village who knows all the ins and outs of the thing."

While they were talking, Zip was running from one end of the watering trough to the other, trying to wash the mud off his white coat. Tabby thought he never would get clean, he stayed in so long, and she was nearly bursting with curiosity to hear what he had to tell.

At last he was through and, jumping out and giving himself a good shake, they sought a sunny spot in the back garden where they would not be disturbed, and Zip began his story.

"In the first place, have you heard the doctor or anyone else talking about the burglars that got in Judge Perkins' house last night, and stole all the silver knives, forks, spoons and other things they could lay their hands on, besides eating up the pies and the cold chicken that were on the pantry shelf?"

"Oh, do tell me about it! I'm all excitement! I just love to hear about burglars! It is so exciting it makes me feel all creepy! Just like I make the mice feel when they smell me sitting outside their holes waiting for them to come out so I may pounce upon them. Begin and tell me all about it! Don't leave a thing out that you know. I want it all! How many were there? How did they get in? What did they take, and have they been caught?"

"Go slow, Tabby! One question at a time, if you please. And now if you will keep still, I'll tell you all I know from the very beginning. Do you remember my telling you about a tramp I bit the other day—the one whose bundle of clothes I dropped in the frog pond?"

"Oh, bother the tramp! Who wants to hear about him now? I only want to hear of the burglars," replied impatient Tabby.

"Well, I have to tell you about this tramp to tell you the story, and if you don't keep still and listen, I won't tell it at all."

And Tabby, knowing he would keep his word, curled her tail more tightly around her legs and sat up stiffly, prepared to listen.

"To begin at the beginning," said Zip, "when the doctor and I got up town this morning, he went into the drug store to get some medicines, and I followed. When we were inside we heard a lot of excited men talking about the burglars who had gotten in Judge Perkins' house and made off with the silver without being caught. The Judge was in the midst of them, telling all he knew, so I listened and got the news first-hand. And this is what he said.

"His wife awoke and thought she heard someone moving around downstairs. Then she wakened the Judge and they both listened. Yes, there surely was someone moving cautiously around under them, in the dining-room! Next they heard whoever it was move to the hall door and begin to mount the stairs. As the Judge had no fire-arms, he said he picked up a chair and tiptoed to the head of the stairs, intending to bring it down on the burglar's head when he came within hitting distance. The hall was as black as your hat and he could hear nothing now but his wife's frightened whispers, begging him to come back or the burglar would kill him. Then he heard the burglar's soft step on the stairs. He had reached the first landing, for the Judge could tell by the sound of his steps just where he must be. Then a loud howl rent the air. The burglar had stepped on their pet cat, who always sleeps on the stair landing!

"This surprised the burglar so that he stepped back, lost his balance and fell bumpety-bump to the bottom. The Judge rushed back into the bedroom, lit a candle and, holding it high over his head, hurried down the stairs. His wife followed behind with a big umbrella clasped in her hand, while the Judge was armed with a big, black briarwood cane with a silver knob on the end. And the Judge said that if he ever got a crack at that burglar with that cane it would split his head open. When they reached the dining-room, they heard the burglar stumbling down the cellar stairs. They followed him, but were too late, for as they reached the foot of the stairs the burglar was just climbing out of a window, the way he had gotten in, propping it open with an old cane that had a bundle of clothes tied on the end of it, all done up in a dirty, red handkerchief.

(Page Thirty-Four)

"The minute the Judge got to this part of his story, I left, for at the mention of the bundle done up in a dirty, red handkerchief on the end of a cane, I thought of the tramp I had bitten yesterday. I felt sure it was he that was the burglar. So I determined not to lose any time, but to go over there and nose around and see if I could not track him by the scent of his footsteps, even if I should not be fortunate enough to get a smell at the bundle he had left behind, for I should know the dirty smell of that man's shins and his old bundle anywhere."

"And is that where you have been, chasing that tramp? Did you find him?" asked Tabby.

"Tabby, will you keep still and stop asking questions? You throw me all off my story! If you will only keep quiet and let me stop long enough to get my breath, I'll tell you all. But mind, it is going to be in my own way!"

"Very well, then; I will keep still, but I am so excited, I feel I must ask a question now and then or blow up!"

So once again Tabby wrapped her tail tightly around her legs to keep from tapping the end of it in her nervousness. And Zip proceeded with his story.

"Well, when I got out of the drug store, I ran just as fast as I could to Judge Perkins' house across lots, through mud puddles and down lanes."

"And you looked it when you got here!" broke in Tabby.

To which remark Zip paid no attention, but went right on with his story.

"When I reached the Judge's, I made straight for the cellar window, hoping to find the cane with the bundle of clothes still on it propping up the window.

"Was it there? Was it there?" interrupted Tabby.

"Yes, it was there, and I went up and smelt of it and no mistaking the odor, it was the same dirty bundle I had dropped in the frog pond! I paid no more attention to it, but began to look for footprints and smell around on the ground by the window. Just as I thought, it was the same tramp! I started on his scent, which was easy to follow, as his feet were big and the scent strong. They led me down through the garden, past the barn and into a thick clump of trees by the stone wall at the end of the Judge's place. Here the fellow had stopped, dug a hole and buried the silver! He had done it hurriedly and with his hands, for I could see finger marks on the ground and the handle of one spoon sticking out. I waited for no more, but ran along the wall trying to find a place to get through, but I could not until I reached the gate. Then I crawled under and then ran back to where the tramp had climbed the wall and dropped down on the other side. Here I picked up his trail again and followed it to the railroad track where the freight trains stand on a siding. I lost it here, so I think he must have jumped on a freight and escaped that way. Now what do you think of that for a story?"

"I think you are a very clever dog. But isn't it too bad that they will never find their silver and there it will be all the time buried in their own back yard!"

"Of course they will find it!" exclaimed Zip.

"I would like to know how! For they won't be digging in that part of the garden."

"Well, they just will, for I am going to lead them to it!" Zip said.

"How are you going to do that when you can't talk, I should like to know?"

"No, I can't talk, but I can bark and make such a fuss that they will follow me to the place and then I will scratch around and reveal the silver."

"My, but I should like to be there and see their faces when the first spoon comes flying out of the earth when you scratch!"

"You can be. I will tell you when I am going and you may go ahead and be sitting on the fence when I bring them to the spot."

"You are a dear, Zip! And I'll give you all the meat they give me for dinner for three days!"

"All right; it's a bargain."

"When are you going?"

"Right away, for I want to be there when the Judge gets home. Come ahead and let's start!"

And five minutes later you could have seen a little, spotted dog and a big, yellow cat running side by side across lots and down lanes in the direction of Judge Perkins' home.

CHAPTER III

Zip stopped the Judge's questions by jumping up and down on the window sill, smelling the bundle of clothes, jumping up and down, nosing around the tracks and then running with nose to the ground, barking as he went.

"What in the dickens does the dog mean by such behavior?" said the Judge.

"Looks as if he were following the scent of some person," replied the constable.

"Perhaps he is!" from the Judge.

"See, he is jumping upon the stone wall as if trying to get over it."

"That would appear as if the person whose track he is on had climbed the wall at that point."

Here Zip came back with head up.

"Well, what do you want, Zip?" asked the Judge, for Zip had caught his trouser leg in his teeth and was trying to pull him after him.

"I think he is trying to tell us to follow him," said the constable.

At this Zip let go the Judge's trousers, jumped up and down on the constable as much as to say, "That is just what I mean!" and then darted off down the path again. Seeing the men did not follow him, he came back and jumped up and down on the Judge and then ran down the path once more.

"Surely that is what he wants," agreed the Judge, and so the two walked just behind, following the dog until he stopped and began to scratch the dirt away from the roots of a clump of trees. And as he dug spoons, knives, forks and sugar-bowl lids began to fly out from under his feet. When a big tablespoon landed at the Judge's feet, he exclaimed, "By all that is wonderful, see this spoon! That dog has discovered where the burglar hid my silver. Pretty clever work for a little dog!"

"One would think he was a police dog and had been trained to hunt down thieves," said the constable.

"Well, Zip, you shall have a silver collar for this, made out of one of my solid silver spoons," promised the Judge, as the men went to the hole Zip was digging and helped push away the earth. Soon they counted the pieces, and found they had recovered all that had been missing.

"Hello!" exclaimed the constable. "Whose cat are you? I never saw such a large cat in my life!"

"Where is any cat?" asked the Judge.

"Up there on the wall," replied the constable, pointing his finger at Tabby, who was quietly sitting on top of the wall enjoying the unearthing of the stolen property.

"Oh, that is Zip's playfellow! I have often seen them playing together when I have been at the doctor's," said the Judge.

"Just like a smart dog to select a cat as a chum instead of another dog. And I tell you what, I should like to own that dog myself, but I suppose the doctor would not sell him at any price."

"I should say not!" replied the Judge. "That little dog has been his constant companion for three years when visiting his patients. Be the day ever so hot or cold, it is never too hot, never too cold for Zip to go along. In winter he sits up beside the doctor wrapped to the chin in a big, warm robe, and in summer in a light one to keep the flies from biting him.

"Here comes my wife down the garden path. She must have heard us drive in and our not coming to the house has aroused her curiosity and now she's coming to see what we are doing. Won't she be surprised and delighted when she sees we have found her silver?"

And she surely was, but even more surprised at the way they had found it than at the discovery. She looked around to pet Zip and take him to the house and give him some cake and milk, of which he was very fond, but he and Tabby had both disappeared.

The next day it all came out in the Maplewood daily paper, telling how Zip, Dr. Elsworth's little fox terrier, had tracked the burglar to the spot where he had buried his booty, and that they had recovered it all, not losing so much as a spoon. It also recounted how the Judge had ordered the jeweler to make a solid silver collar for Zip with his name engraved on it and what he had done to deserve this honor.

When Zip and Tabby came trotting up the front path on their return from the Judge's, the doctor was sitting on his front porch, reading the afternoon paper. On seeing Zip, he put it down and exclaimed,

"Well, you rascal, where have you been all this time? And what do you mean by making me take all my rides alone? You look all draggled and dirty and as if you had been in mischief. Perhaps you have been getting Tabby into mischief too, for I see she is with you."

"So you think he has been in mischief, do you?" mewed Tabby in a cross voice, and she avoided his hand when he attempted to stroke her. She thought to herself, "The doctor will feel badly when he reads in tomorrow's paper that Zip, instead of being in mischief, has made himself the hero of the town."

But Zip did not mind. He knew his looks and behavior were against him, but that on the morrow all would be explained and the doctor would be as proud as Punch of him. So he quietly trotted around the corner of the house and went for a swim in the horse trough.

The next day when the doctor drove into town with Zip by his side, everyone wanted to pet him and talk about how clever a dog he had been. And they gave him so much candy, cakes and sweets that he had a high fever the next day. However, he went with the doctor just the same, only instead of running around visiting all the dogs and cats he knew wherever the doctor stopped, he just lay still on the seat and slept.

At last the doctor noticed and said, "Zip, I believe you feel sick today, you are so quiet. Let me feel your nose!"

This is what a doctor does for a dog, just as he feels the pulse in a person. If the nose is hot, the dog is sick; if it is cold, he is all right.

Being a homeopathic physician, Dr. Elsworth opened his case and gave Zip three little sugar pills, or so Zip thought, but they had medicine inside of them, and he swallowed them just as if he had been a sick little boy. Inside of two or three hours he felt better and before he went to bed that night the doctor gave him another dose, so when Zip awoke the next day, he was feeling as frisky as ever.

CHAPTER IV

Knowing Mrs. Mason's cook, Diana, to be considered the best cake and cookie maker in the whole village of Maplewood, he decided to run to the rear of the house and see if she would not give him one. Failing in this, he determined to steal one if he could get it in no other way. So he cautiously crept up the back kitchen steps so he could peek in the open door to see if Diana was alone, but just as he reached the top step he had a surprise, for the Mason's big, spotted cat was curled up asleep under the window. She smelt dog, opened her eyes and without a moment's hesitation bounded on his back. She hated dogs worse than rats, and being nearly the size of Zip, and having long, sharp claws, she was not an enemy to be sneezed at. Consequently it was either fight and arouse the household and so lose his chance of a gingersnap, or get out of her way. He decided on the latter. Seeing a kitchen window open, he gave one bound and jumped through. But, horrors, what had he landed on? Not the kitchen floor, as he thought he would, but on something soft and squashy. Not a pillow either, for it was all soft and gooey, and he was sinking into the soft, white stuff deeper and deeper every second! He tried to jump out, but could not. The stuff was spongy and sticky and clingy, and he had now sunk deep into it up to his stomach.

"What ever shall I do?" he thought to himself, when horrors! the kitchen door opened and Diana, a big, fat darky with a red and yellow spotted turban on her head appeared in the doorway.

On seeing a little head looking at her from the pan of dough, she threw up her hands in fright, turned and fled down the hall, calling, "Mis' Mason! Mis' Mason! Come heah quick! Someone done gone and left a little niggah baby in my bread dough!"

As she ran through the hall, Zip made an extra effort to jump out, but instead of doing so, he upset the pan off the chair, and dog and dough rolled on the kitchen floor together. Shaking off as much of it as he could, Zip raced out the door, leaving a trail of dough behind him. He did not dare get in the doctor's buggy in that mess, so he crawled under the garden fence and ran down to the river, where he might wash himself off before going home.

When the Mason cat saw him disappear under the garden fence, she went into the kitchen to see what he had done to make all the noise he had just before he ran out all covered with the white stuff. As she stood by the pan smelling the dough to discover what it was, Diana and Mrs. Mason came hurrying into the room. Not seeing anyone there but their cat, who was standing right beside the dough, they of course thought it was she that had caused all this trouble. So Diana grabbed up a broom and would have pounded her to a jelly in her anger at spoiling all her nice bread dough, but pussy was too quick for her. She saw what was coming and flew out the door and hid under the currant bushes in the garden, from which place she could hear Diana scolding and talking to herself as she cleaned up the mess.

"I do declar' to goodness, I done goan to kill dat cat some of these days. Just wait till I ketch her, I'll tie a peppah box to her tail!"

"Hark!" said the cat. "I wonder who is giving that long, penetrating whistle. Oh, I know now whose dog that was! It was Zip, Doctor Elsworth's pet fox terrier that everyone thinks so smart and that everyone is talking about in the village these last few days because he found the silver the burglar had stolen from the Judge. If I had known it was he, I would not have pounced on him, but I was only half awake when I saw a dog trying to sneak into our kitchen. It is a law with me to jump on every dog I see before he has time to pounce on me. Now I am awfully sorry about this, for I have been wanting to meet Zip for ever so long, as I think I am the only cat in town who doesn't know him."

When Zip was nearly to the river he heard the voices of children playing on the bank. So he crept carefully forward under the bushes until he came to a place where he could peer through. There, sure enough, were five or six little boys and girls having a picnic. Some were in wading, skirts and trousers rolled up above the knees, while others were just spreading out a tablecloth on the mossy bank preparatory to setting their table for luncheon.

While Zip was looking, one little girl took out of her basket some delicious looking fried chicken, and as she piled the nicely browned pieces on a plate, she put the breasts on top to make it look more tempting. It made Zip's mouth water so for a taste that he decided to keep well hidden and see if they would not leave the table for a moment so he might jump out and steal a piece. As he waited another little girl lifted out of her basket some nut cookies and big, thick slices of angel cake, while a third arranged some stuffed eggs and big dill pickles.

Now all these things Zip adored with the exception of the pickles, so he lay down with nose stretched out in their direction as far as he could without being seen, that he might at least smell the goodies while he waited. But as he waited the bread dough on his back dried and hardened and made his coat stick up in all sorts of queer shapes, though he never once thought of it. He was too much occupied deciding just which piece of chicken he would take when he had the chance, and he was too delighted to move when one of the boys began chasing all the others with his cup full of water. And before he knew it, the boys trying to escape ran straight into the bushes where Zip lay concealed and nearly stepped on him.

One boy looked down, caught sight of a queer looking animal with bright eyes and funny hair that stuck up all over him. He gave one scream and jumped back just in time to get the full cup of water in his face. But he cared not. He just turned and fled, screaming, "A porcupine! A porcupine! Look out or he will fill you full of quills!"

This alarm made the girls jump up and run from their table of goodies in a panic.

The lad who had thrown the water thought the other boy was merely fooling when he peered into the bushes and said he saw a white porcupine and fled.

Now was Zip's chance. Not waiting for them to get out of sight, he boldly rushed out and helped himself to the biggest piece of chicken he saw and gulped it down in his haste to get another piece and to steal some cake before the children should recover from their fright and return.

As they ran, one little girl turned around to see if the porcupine was chasing them. What she saw was some animal eating up their goodies, and she began to cry, for she was terribly hungry and had been thinking of all the good things they had to eat when lo! it was snatched out of their mouths, one might say, for their fright had come so suddenly.

One of the larger boys stopped running and looked back, and as he had once seen a porcupine, he knew this animal now eating their luncheon had too long legs and his nose was too thin to be a porcupine. Having gotten over his first panic, and being very hungry, his courage began to come back, and he called,

"Here, let's stop running away and go back and kill that animal, whatever it is! It won't eat us. It is too small!"

So like frightened sheep, when their leader stopped, the children all halted. "Get long sticks," he commanded, "and we'll drive him away."