But Mrs. Rusty wouldn’t be calmed.
“He’s a great, cruel bully,” she replied. “And if he spends much time here I’m afraid the children will starve, for neither you nor I will be able to go out and find food for them, because Jasper would be sure to pounce on us; and what chance would we have against him?”
“We’ll go together,” said Rusty Wren, looking very brave.
But Mrs. Wren said she wouldn’t think of leaving her six small children all alone in the house.
“Everything will be all right,” Rusty assured her. “You know Jasper isn’t coming unless he can find the time. Jolly Robin said so. And maybe he won’t be able to get here at all.”
They had gone inside their house to talk over the matter in private. And Rusty had hardly finished speaking when a loud bang, followed by a clatter, sounded on the tin roof above their heads.
It was no wonder that they both jumped.
“Goodness!” exclaimed Rusty’s wife. “What’s that?”
But Rusty couldn’t tell her. During all the weeks they had lived there he had heard nothing like that.
While they listened the noise was repeated. And Mrs. Rusty declared that the sky must be falling, for she had never heard such a dreadful sound in all her life.