The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1913-02-13


perch, he leaned over and grabbed
the shiny thing with one paw. He
/ pulled IL up. but found Ii had q long
string attached 10 either end.
He vas on the point Of smelling
/ and tasting OF II when the string was
! jerked, and Bobby and the pretty tor
were pulled into the river There
/ was a merry laugh from the shore as
fisherman saw the squirrels mis-
I hap. Bobby had been playing With
I the boys fishing line and float
Now. Bobby was q fair swimmer.
but the current was swift and strong
/ He was likely 10 get something more
/ than a wettIng. and he was really
frightened. But the boy on the shore
was sorry for the little squirrel, and
/ he seized a long branch and held IL
+ out 10 Bobby.
Bobby seized IL and ran nimbly up
/ 1t. At first he was afraid TO go too
| near the boy. for he thought he
might punish him, but the young
/ fisherman laughed so good-naturedly
that Bobby ran along the branch and
even hoped on his shoulder to get
ashore
You're pretty tame" the boy said.
''or Is it just plain fright? Well. here
are some nuts"
Bobby ate the nuts thrown to him,
and they tasted so good that he for
got all about his accident They
were peanuts. something he had
never found growing on the trees in
the woods. The more he ate the more
he liked them.
The boy laughed again when he
begged for just one more nut. "All
l have, Bobby" the boy said. But
you come to my house, and I'll feed
you more"
Bobby followed him home, and
thereafter every day he went for
more nuts. His mother warned him
that he would get in trouble If he
didn't keep away. But Bobby liked
nuts, and he liked the boy.
Then one day the great adventure
came. He had been prowling around
the house all day, but no boy appear
ed At last Bobby got tired Of wait
il r his nuts and he went foraging
for himself
He found barrel of -four stand
ing on the back porch, which he
shifted at longingly. 1t smelt good
and the flour tasted good. There was
a small hole in the barrel, and the
-four sifted through it.
Bobby began gnawing the hole big
ger. This would make it easier for
him to get at the flour. AS the hole
grew bigger the stream of white in
creased Bobby liked to see the -four
pouring forth, and he kept at his
gnawing There was soon quite a
pile Of it outside of the barrel.
Bobby could crawl through the
hole now. He was wondering what
to do next when noise startled him.
He looked around just as big tiger
cat sprang from bench at him.
The little squirrel disappeared in
the hole with squeak, escaping the
dig of the cats claw by an inch. Then
he began to dig and eat his way
through the flour. That terrible claw
was pursuing him. Once or twice it
scratched his tail.
Faster and faster he dug his way
through the soft, white -four until he
was nearly in the middle of the bar
rel, where the cat could not reach
him.
! But O, what a prison! Bobby
couldn't open his eyes to see without
getting them filled with -four. He
| tried to dig hole large enough for
him to be comfortable in, but the
flour was packed down hard.
The hole had closed up behind
him, and Bobby was going to be
smothered to death if he didn't do
something. So he began to eat the
-four. He thought if he could eat
enough he would have a big hole for
himself.
He ate and ate until it seemed as if
! he had nearly barrel of -four inside
of him. But it didn't seem to make
much difference. The -four was still
all around him, and his eyes were
full of it.
81 must eat more" he said.
Once again he ate flour until he
was nearly as round as cooked
dumping, but the more he ate, the
more there seemed to be all around
him. He was giving up in despair
when suddenly he touched something
hard
1t was the side of the barrel, and
/ now, forgetting his fear of the cat,
/ Bobby gnawed frantically at the wood
until he could see daylight outside
What a relief that was! He lay there
resting and breathing in the fresh
air. Through his peek hole he watch
ed for the cat. But pussy had left.
When he was rested Bobby began
gnawing again, and pretty soon the