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Then they were silent for some min
utes.
“ Here’s where the rogues live,” said
the first voice again, “in this old oak
tree. Yes; here’s the very hole they
go in at. Now we’ll have fan ;” and
he commenced poking the leaves away
.from the door.
The other boy came running up.
“But how will we get at them? ’ he in
quired ; “that’s the question.”
“ Yes, that is the question,” said Chip
to Friskey, as they scrambled up the
wall of their house.
“ Put your hand in,” said the first
boy.
So the other put his hand in the hole
and drew it out again full of nut-shells
and moss. “Well, they’re in there, any
how,” said he; “ for see ! here’s a bit
of fur, and this moss is warm yet, where
they have been lying. I tell you what
we can do. We'll burn them out.”
“ That’s theidea,” answered his com
panion ; “get up a w good smoke and
they’ll run out at this hole, and we can
catch them alive as easy as anything.”
“ Oh ho! my young man ; you can,
can you,” cried Chip, 6 and his eyes
twinkled till Friskey laughed aloud, he
looked so cunning. “I guess you
did’nt know we lived in a two-story
house, did you ?”
The boys didn't'understand what Chip
was saying, of course, but they heard
him chattering up there, and that made
them more eager than before to get at
him.
They went to Avork at once. First
they took dry sticks and laid across the
door of Chip’s dwelling ; then they put
paper under them, and presently began
to draw matches across a stone for the
purpose of lighting them. When Chip
heard this, he told Friskey it was time
for them to be moving. So they went
up to the upper door and scraped away
the leaves and got upon the limb just as
the smoke began to rise inside. Then
they peeped over the edge of the limb
at the boys below. Both of them Avere
kneeling upon the ground, their two
hands stretched out towards the fire as
though they Avere warming their fingers.
But this Avas not the case. They were
Avaiting to catch Chip and Friskey as
soon as they should run out of the hole.
They thought the nut-crackers Avould
surely come out rather than stay inside
and be burned to death.
They Avaited some time, but nothing
appeared.
“ I guess they must be dead by this
time,” said one of them, getting up and
stuffing his red fingers in his pantaloons
pockets.
“ I guess they ain’t dead, though,”
said the saucy Chip, and with that he
poked a feAV nut-shells doAvn from the
bough upon which he Avas sitting. They
came rattling down upon the boys’
heads and made them both look up at
once to see Avhat was the matter. Oh,
how vexed they Avere then !
BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
“ Oh, dear!” said Friskey, Avhen she
began to feel safe and comfortable on
the limb; “ it’s a nice thing to live in
a two-story house Avhen trouble comes.”
“ Yes,'’ answered Chip ; “ but it’s a
great deal nicer to be lean when trouble
comes. I never could have got aivay
from those felloAvs if they had come af
ter us last fall. Oh, how angry they
are!” he said, peeping doAvn again. “I
guess they’d eat us up alive if they could
catch us; but they can’t, though, can
they Frisk ?”
Friskey said she guessed not, and
shook her little head very Avisely, ivhile
Chip laid his paAv up alongside of his
nose and laughed in a saucy manner at
the boys beloiv, who were talking to
gether all this time and wondering whe
ther they could get at the nut-crackers
in any Avay. First they thought of
climbing the tree to the branch where
they were, but then they remembered
how lively the little creature had been,
and Avisely determined not to try that
way.
“ I wish I only had my gun now,”
said the oldest boy, “I’d pop them off
that tree before they knew what they
were about.”
Friskey trembled a little at this, and
looked as though she should like to run
right away, and I presume she would
have done so, but Chip wouldn’t let her
go 3 r et. He said he wanted to have
more fun, and that he meant to go and
listen to what they Avere saying. So he
told Friskey to stay very quiet for a
minute, and then he crept softly down
the trunk of the tree on the other side
from where the boys were standing. He
found they were talking about him. One
of them Avas saying ;
“ I tell you, Bill, I should like to
catch that biggest felloiv, if only just to
pay him for looking so saucy.”
Chip thought this very funny, and he
laughed outright. Then the boys, hear
ing the sound, turned about quickly and
saiv the very fellow they Avere talking
about peeping at them around the tree,
and not more than two feet from their
heads.
Oh ! he did look so cunning; and
Friskey, watching him from the limb
above, thought there never was ano
ther nut cracker in the world as cute as
Chip.
Os course the boys sprung after him,
and of course he Avas a great deal too
quick for them, and Avas up the tree and
alongside of Friskey before they had
time to take breath.
“ I say,” said the big boy, getting very
red in the face, “ i’ll pay that fellow
yet. I’ll burn the whole tree down.”
Friskey got frightened again at this,
and Avanted to run away at once, but
Chip was beginning to think he was a
very smart nut-cracker indeed, and felt
as though he should like to remain
where he was some time longer, in or
der to “show off” before Friskey and
the boys lioav very brave and venture
some he dared to be.
The boys kindled up a fresh fire, and
soon had a roaring blaze, for the oak
tree was old and very dry, and besides,
being hollow, it, “drew,” as Ave say, just
like a chimney. In a few moments
great black puffs began to come out of
the top of the trunk. Chip laughed at
this, and at Friokey, who was frighten
ed at it, and said :
“ Psluiav ! it’s only smoke. I’m not
afraid a bit. I’m going up nearer to
look at it.”
So he crept along close up to the hole.
Just as he got very near, a great flame
burst out, and the smoke puffed in'-%is
eyes and nose, and the fire singed his
moustache and eyelashes, and made
him nearly blind for a minute, so that
he forgot how very cunning he had set
out to be, and even forgot that he ought
to take care of Friskey, but turned
quickly about and ran away as fast as
possible.
He did not stop but a second when he
reached the very tip end of the limb,
then gave a spring, intending to reach
the branch of an elm tree Avhicli stood
near where he thought he should be safe
once more. Noav this Avas a jump Avhich
Chip had often made “just in fun,”
before, Avhen he was at play with Fris
key—a jump which he could usually
make Avit.h most perfect ease —but this
time, whether blinded by the smoke or
weakened by his fright I cannot say, he
did not reach the spot he had intended,
but came doAvn plump upon the ground.
What did Friskey do? Why follow
ed Chip, of course, out to the very end
of the limb, and then (I suppose she
thought she must) made exactly the
same leap, and came down alongside of
him upon the ground, and there they
lay together, two as flat little nut-crack
ers as you ever saw; for the fall and
the fright together had taken away their
breath, and there Avas hardly a bit of
life left in them. That was why they
did not scamper right away again up
another tree, but lay quite still until
the boys came and picked them up and
put them in a bag to carry them to their
home.
Chip shut up his eyes very closely at
first, and determined to make them
think he Avas quite dead, for he thought
then they Avould not Avish to keep him,
but would thrOAV him out of the bag, and
then he could easily run.
Presently his captors commenced
talking a3 they trudged on through the
Avoods, and he heard the younger ask
his companion :
“ Do you think that biggest fellow is
really dead ?”
“ No,” Avas the reply ; “I’m sure he
ain’t. He’s only making believe.”
“ But if he should be, Avhat will you
do then ?”
“Skin him as soon as I get home.
His fur will make sis a splendid muff
after it is stretched and dressed.”
So Chip thought it was best to come
to life immediately.
The boys put him and Friskey in a
Avooden cage for the night. Poor little
Friskey Avas so tired and Avorried with
the excitement of the day that she did
not feel like stirring about much, but
finding some straiv in one corner of the
cage, she lay down upon it and tried to
rest. Not so Chip. He soon found
out that it Avas a tivo-story house, and
he Avas delighted. Friskey didn’t take
this neAvs very joyfully. She said that
tivo-story or one-story, it was all the
same: it never Avould be anything but a
prison to her. That she believed Chip
would be satisfied to live in a jail all his
life, so that it Avas only stylish on the
outside , but that nothing but freedom
would satisfy her, and she meant to
have it, or give up her life in the at
tempt.
I said there Avas some straw in one
corner of the cage, and that same night
Friskey commenced to gnaw at the wood
on that side. As soon as daylight came
she covered up her Avork with the straiv
and then laid her little body close up
against it and went to sleep. When the
boys came out to look at their treasure,
as they did about twenty times that day,
they poked her up ivith a stick to make
sure that she was still alive, but did not
disturb her any farther.
The next night, Friskey Avas at her
task once more, working faithfully until
morning, and then slept again during
the daj\ This day, however, the boys
began to think she Avas sick and would
probably die, and talked very seriously
about killing her at once in order to se
cure her fur in good condition.
Fortunately they decided to Avait one
more night, and see if she would not re
cover. How Friskey did work that
night. Chip helped her too, and about
twelve o’clock they had made a hole
large enough for Chip to squeeze through
with a good deal of effort, while Friskey
slipped out very easily, as she Avas some
what smaller than Chip, and had not
eaten so much of the good things which
the boys had provided for them from
t day to day.
Away they went to the Avoods again ;
and that avus the last the boys ever saw
of them.
Os course they could not go back to
their old two-story oak tree, because
that was burned so that only an old
stump Avas left, but they found another
smaller house, and lived in it for many
years, contented and happy.
A Sharp Reply.
“I’m tired ,” said little Johnny, as he
walked along beside the loaded team.
“ So are the wheels,” replied his fa
ther, “ but they keep a-going.”
“And so would I if I had as many
fellows to help me,” Avas the well-spoken
response.
«•>
He is a fool avlio makes his doctor
his heir.