238 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



doubtless the culprit. Burglary is heredi- 

 tary in his family, and he has inherited not 

 only the splendid kit of tools, but also the 

 furtive habits necessary for the business. 

 As I watch one, he flies up the trunk of the 

 tree, out on its spreading limb, gives a quick 

 jump to the extended branch of the neigh- 

 boring tree, and runs down its trunk. If he 

 had only run across the ground he could 

 have got there in half the time. But time 

 is not such an object with him. His whole 

 life is a series of dangers, and on the tree 

 he is fairly safe. So he spends as little 

 time as possible on the ground. His curv- 

 ing nails, even sometimes his sharp teeth, 

 help him to hold securely to the bark. I 

 know it is the fashion to decry the red 

 squirrel. He is the Ishmael of the fur- 

 bearers, as the English sparrow is amongst 

 the birds. But, for the life of me, I cannot 

 help loving him. He has a reprehensible 

 habit of taking young birds from their nests, 

 but I have a predilection for spring chicken 

 myself which warns me not to be too hard 

 on a fellow sinner. Of all the wood crea- 



