GRAY DAYS AND MERRY WAYS 



spoil. After a short absence she returned for a 

 new supply, and I dare say she would have kept 

 up this performance for an hour or more; but, 

 finding the game rather monotonous after a dozen 

 repetitions, I concluded to vary it. During one 

 of her absences I shut off the supply-room. I had 

 barely time to close the door, to arrange a trail 

 of nuts from the window to my lounge, and to 

 resume my recumbent position when the busy 

 creature reappeared. At first she seemed some- 

 what disconcerted by changed conditions, but my 

 stratagem worked successfully after a time; for 

 when she sighted the decoy nuts she began carry- 

 ing them off as eagerly as in the earlier instance. 



The success of this ruse so encouraged me that 

 I ventured on another experiment. I drew a 

 table to the side of the lounge when one of her 

 short absences enabled me to do so, and on this 

 table I rested a hand in which were two or three 

 hickory nuts. Madame Jolie-Queue came bound- 

 ing along the usual route this time apparently 

 undisturbed by a new arrangement and, advanc- 

 ing toward my hand, she took a nut from between 

 my unresisting fingers, evidently looking upon 

 me as a piece of furniture merely. 



Another expedition across the room, out the 



[79] 



