A SQUIRREL EPISODE. 235 



seconds he tried it again, and again his discour- 

 aging reception drove him back. He grew 

 wary, however, and pretty soon I began to no- 

 tice that every time he made his dash to the top 

 he was a few inches nearer the gate, which 

 stretched like a bridge from the fence to the lo- 

 cust-tree, and of course so much nearer me. At 

 last, advancing thus inch by inch, he came up 

 close to the gate, so near I could have put my 

 hand on him, — that is, I could have put my 

 hand on the place he occupied, for he did not 

 stay to be caressed; he flew across the gate, 

 sprang three or four feet into the tree, and was 

 out of sight before I could lift a finger. This 

 passage having been successfully made, he felt 

 that he was safe, and could afford to be saucy. 

 He began the usual scold. Then I tossed a little 

 stick up toward him, as a reminder that human 

 power is not limited by the length of an arm, 

 and he subsided. 



Once when he came up to the fence top, be- 

 fore his grand dash, I laughed at him. Strange 

 to say, this made him furious. He reviled me 

 vehemently. No doubt, if I had understood his 

 language, I should have been covered with con- 

 fusion, for I confess that he could make a very 

 good point against me. What business had I, 

 an interloper in his dominion, to interfere with 

 his rights, or to say whether he should dine off 

 birds or berries? 



