CHIRPY, THE RUFFIAN. 125 
entrance of that wonderful bundle of miscel- 
laneous rubbish which they called their nest, 
said ‘Cheep! cheep-cheep!’ very quickly. 
Her voice was different from his, by the 
way. All sparrows’ voices differ, in fact, 
just as men’s voices do. 
Next moment Chirpy was back at the 
nest, leaving a cat softly swearing to his 
address among the raspberry-canes, and find- 
ing another sparrow seated modestly on the 
edge of the spouting. 
This sparrow said ‘Chirp! chirp!’ slowly 
and softly, and rather deep down in his throat. 
I don’t know what he wanted there, but 
Chirpy seemed to. Chirpy swore long and 
wickedly in his ear, and the two went away 
like brown streaks drawn athwart the hot 
sunlight. 
Half-an-hour later we find Chirpy on sentry 
as usual—and making remarks, as_ usual. 
Across the road was another fine cock-sparrow, 
with a nest. He was rather a jolly chap, and 
would persist in saying ‘ Cheer-up ! cheer-up !’ 
the day long. The two were at it now, one 
against the other, when a fight started down 
the road. It was no end of a racket. 
Instantly, as if the fight had called them— 
which it had—dark bullet-heads appeared at 
intervals along the spouting on both sides of 
