Washer danced around him, but he was unable to get at Billy, who laughed and shouted:
“Now who’s got possession?”
Washer wasn’t to be bullied, however, and retorted: “I’ll starve you out. You don’t dare uncurl. If you do I’ll get you. Now we’ll see who owns the place.”
But Billy had a ready answer. “If I starve you’ll starve too. The minute you go out for food, I’ll go too. Now what are you going to do?”
Washer recognized the truth of this, and was silent. He watched Billy with angry eyes, but he was still afraid of the bristling ball of sharp quills. They were in this attitude of waiting when Bumper appeared at the mouth of the hole.
“Hello!” he exclaimed, addressing Fuzzy Wuzz. “This looks like a promising place. Let’s investigate it.”
He ran in the hole, and came up against Washer the Raccoon. “You in here, Washer?” he asked. “I didn’t know you were here. Then I must look for some other place for a home.”
“Yes, I’m here,” replied Washer crossly. “And so is Billy the Porcupine. There he is sulking in the corner. He refused to leave when I ordered him out.”
“He had no right to order me away, Bumper,” Billy said, uncurling. “I discovered the hole first, and came here to claim it for a home.”
“But I beat him down here,” interrupted Washer, “and the one that gets first in a hole has a right to it. Isn’t that the law of the woods, Bumper?”